India, March 1 -- The attack on Iran by the US and Israel on Saturday quickly snowballed into a regional conflict with major UAE cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi coming under attack as Tehran fired back and targeted US establishments in the region.

The escalation prompted closure of airspace and subsequent disruption of flights in the Middle East, leading to hundreds of thousands of travelers being either stranded or diverted to other airports after Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain closed their airspace, the Associated Press reported.

Major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha were shut and more than 18,000 flights by major Middle Eastern airlines were cancelled.

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