The situation in the Middle East has escalated once again. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stated that Iran launched four missiles into its airspace on Monday (May 4), with three of them being intercepted. This marks the first such attack since the ceasefire agreement was announced by the United States and Iran on April 7.
According to a statement released by the UAE Ministry of Defense on social media platform X on Monday, it was monitored that Iran launched four cruise missiles towards different regions of the UAE. Three of them were successfully intercepted in the country’s airspace, while the remaining one fell into the sea.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the sounds heard in various parts of the UAE were due to the interception of the incoming missiles by the air defense system.
“The Ministry of Defense urges the public to obtain information from official channels and to follow all public safety procedures upon receiving warning alerts,” the statement said.
Prior to the interception, the UAE had issued mobile alerts warning several emirates of potential missile threats, including Dubai and the capital city, Abu Dhabi. Before carrying out the interception, the UAE stated that its air defense system was responding to the missile threat and advised people to stay in “safe locations.”
On Monday, the emirate of Fujairah in the eastern part of the UAE reported that an Iranian drone caused a fire at an oil facility. Fujairah serves as the endpoint of a pipeline in the UAE used to transport some oil bypassing the Hormuz Strait to avoid shipping risks during periods of Iranian conflict.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the Iranian attack on one of its commercial ships on Monday. The ministry stated that a tanker owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was attacked by two drones while attempting to pass through the Hormuz Strait. The UAE strongly condemned the “terrorist attacks” by Iran.
Before the US-Iran ceasefire agreement took effect, the UAE was one of the Gulf countries most severely affected by Iranian attacks. With the US military initiating Operation “Project Freedom” on Monday to assist stranded merchant ships in safely navigating out of the Hormuz Strait, tensions between the US and Iran have once again escalated.