UAE under drone, missile attack by Iran
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday it faced aerial attacks from Iran after it warned its neighbour against allowing attacks from its territory on disputed islands near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
"UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran," the defence ministry said in a statement explaining "the sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones".
The Tasnim news agency reported the Iranian military's operational command had warned the UAE "if any further aggression originates from its territory against the Iranian islands of Abu Musa and Greater Tunb in the Persian Gulf, Iran... will subject Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE to heavy strikes".
Authorities in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah said later on Saturday the "sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations".
Abu Musa and the Greater Tunb islands, which are controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, have long been a source of dispute between the two countries.
The islands are located in the Gulf near the entrance to the critical global shipping chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz.
Marine traffic there has been disrupted by the regional war, which began with US-'Israeli' attack on Iran on Feb. 28 and has since spread across the Middle East.
