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The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday it had come under aerial attack from Iran after the Islamic Republic warned its neighbour against permitting strikes 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, adding that “the sounds heard are the result of the Air Defence Systems intercepting missiles and drones”.
The Tasnim news agency reported that Iran’s military command had cautioned the UAE that “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 later said the “sounds heard across parts of the city were the result of successful air defence interception operations”.
Abu Musa and the Greater Tunb islands, controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, have long been a point of contention between the two countries. The islands lie in the Gulf near the entrance to the vital global shipping chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz.
Maritime traffic in the area has been disrupted by the regional conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February and has since spread across the Middle East.
Iran has accused Gulf states of allowing US forces to launch attacks from their territory and has carried out missile and drone strikes against what it describes as US interests in those countries during the conflict.
Saudi Arabia, condemning the “repeated Iranian attacks”, said it “decided to declare persona non grata the military attache” of Iran and three other embassy staff members, giving them 24 hours to leave the country, the foreign ministry said.
