UAE says faced drone, missile barrages after Iran warning
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The authorities in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, reported successful air defence interception operations.
PHOTO: AFP
- UAE stated on March 21 it faced aerial attacks from Iran, responding with air defences intercepting missiles and drones.
- Iran warned the UAE against attacks from its territory on disputed islands, threatening strikes on Ras Al Khaimah.
- The islands of Abu Musa and Greater Tunb, claimed by UAE but controlled by Iran, are a source of ongoing dispute.
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DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on March 21 it faced aerial attacks from Iran after the Islamic republic 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 that “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 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”.
The authorities in the northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, which shares its name with the UAE’s sixth-largest city, said later on March 21 that 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 choke point, the Strait of Hormuz.
Marine traffic there has been disrupted by the regional war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28 and has since spread across the Middle East.
Iran accuses Gulf states of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their territory, and has launched missile and drone strikes against what it calls US interests in those countries throughout the war.
Gulf states have repeatedly denied those accusations, saying even before the war that they would not allow their territory or airspace to be used to attack Iran.
Saudi Arabia, in a statement condemning the “repeated Iranian attacks”, said it “decided to declare persona non grata the military attache” of Iran and three other embassy staff, giving them 24 hours to leave the country, the Foreign Ministry said. AFP
