Day 173 | UAE accuses Iran of firing ballistic missiles at shipping
The United Arab Emirates said Tuesday that the two missiles Iran was accused of launching toward the country were targeting maritime shipping, adding that both fell into the sea.
In a statement issued late Tuesday, the UAE Ministry of Defense said, "Assessments showed that the two ballistic missiles detected coming from Iran were targeting maritime traffic and fell into the sea."
The statement came after the ministry earlier said it had detected two missiles launched "from Iran toward the country."
It said the first fell outside the UAE's territorial waters, while the second fell within its territorial waters.
The ministry affirmed that it was "fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything aimed at destabilizing the country's security," in a way that safeguards its sovereignty, security and stability and protects its national interests and resources.
The statement came shortly after the Ministry of Interior urged residents to seek shelter, warning of a "potential missile threat."
The UAE has faced a series of Iranian attacks involving drones and nearly 3,000 ballistic missiles since war broke out in the Middle East following a US-‘Israeli’ attack on the Islamic Republic in late February.
The UAE last reported direct attacks in May.
Since a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran took effect in mid-June, and later collapsed, the UAE had not reported any attacks, unlike other Gulf states that came under attack after the two sides resumed hostilities in July.
That same month, Abu Dhabi said its air defense systems were dealing "with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," before clarifying that the activity had occurred "outside the country's borders."
In late June, the UAE issued a warning to residents similar to the alert issued Tuesday, later clarifying that it had been triggered by a technical malfunction.
More recently, the UAE has repeatedly reported attacks on oil tankers operated by the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, blaming Iran for the incidents.
Trump told his envoys to stop talks with Iran: CNN
US President Donald Trump told his top administration envoys to halt their talks with Iran, according to a US official cited by CNN.
It comes after Trump “seemed to adopt a new approach” after weeks of talks with no developments, in which the US President is “unsatisfied” with Iran’s unwillingness to bend to his demands.
Trump told his negotiating team, which includes Vice President JD Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to not engage with Tehran.
According to the CNN report, White House officials have also shifted their strategy from “hammer Iran ASAP” to “strangle them” over time.
Iran denies firing missiles at UAE on Tuesday
Iran denied launching missiles toward the UAE on Tuesday, after Abu Dhabi accused Tehran of firing two ballistic missiles that it said were targeting “maritime navigation,” with one of them falling in its territorial waters.
In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei as “categorically rejecting” the UAE’s claims that Iran had launched a missile toward its territory.
He said the claim “runs counter to the principle of good neighborliness and undermines efforts to build trust among the countries of the region and prevent the deterioration of insecurity.”
He urged regional parties “to refrain from making unfounded accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
UAE halts all trade, financial dealings with Iran
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it had suspended all trade and financial dealings with Iran.
"In light of regional escalations... all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice," UAE foreign ministry communications director Afra Al Hameli said.
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Read more: Day 172 | Trump threatens Oman: latest developments in US-Iran war
