The UAE accused Iran of launching missiles and drones into its territory

“Four cruise missiles were launched from Iran targeting different areas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three missiles were successfully intercepted over UAE territorial waters, the remaining one fell into the sea,” the UAE Ministry of Defense announced on X on May 4.

The UAE Ministry of Defense added that the country’s forces “are proactively dealing with threats from Iran’s missiles and drones”, calling on people to follow safety procedures when receiving shelter warnings.

This is the latest raid targeting UAE territory since the US and Iran reached a ceasefire nearly a month ago, helping fighting in the area calm down.

The developments caused flights in the UAE with destinations in Dubai and Sharjah to delay their departure time or change direction, according to Flightradar24.

Fujairah city officials said an Iranian drone caused a fire at the Fujairah Petroleum Industrial Park, injuring three people. Civilian forces were deployed to control the fire.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Iran’s missile and drone attacks, calling them an act of “betrayal”. This agency affirms that the UAE has full legitimate rights to respond to the above attacks, and believes that this is a serious escalation, posing a direct threat to national security.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media quoted a senior military official in this country as affirming that Iran “has no plans to target the UAE”. However, this official did not comment on the allegations made by the UAE.

Al Jazeera quoted Natasha Turak, a commentator in Dubai, saying that the attack on Fujairah was Iran’s way of responding to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of opening the “Project Freedom” campaign to support ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran considers the US navy’s deployment of guided-missile destroyers to escort stranded oil tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the ceasefire,” Turak said. “Tehran is responding by attacking ships in Hormuz and now attacking energy facilities in the UAE.”

After the US and Israel launched a campaign to attack Iran on February 28, the UAE became Iran’s top target of retaliation. Tehran believes that the decades-long strategic alliance between Abu Dhabi and Washington is the reason for conducting large-scale attacks.

In total, Iran launched more than 2,800 drones and missiles into the UAE from February 28 until the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington took effect on April 8.

On May 4, the UAE condemned the drone attack on the oil tanker of the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company in Hormuz. This strait is being blocked by Iran in response to the US and its allies. Washington also imposed a blockade on Tehran’s seaports and launched a campaign to escort commercial ships through Hormuz.