The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday reported another barrage of missiles and drones from Iran, just hours after Iran attacked three U.S. Navy destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The UAE Defense Ministry said there were three “moderate” injuries from the Iranian attack, which included two ballistic missiles and three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The ministry cautioned civilians to stay away from debris left by intercepted Iranian weapons.
“Since the beginning of the blatant Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, the air defences have engaged a total of 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,263 UAV’s,” the Defense Ministry said.
The UAE noted that ten people have been killed and 230 injured by Iran’s attacks, including citizens of over two dozen countries across the Middle East and Africa.
Friday’s strike was the third Iranian attack on the UAE this week. During Operation Epic Fury in March and April, Iran launched thousands of missiles and drones at the UAE and other neighboring countries, including Israel, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
The UAE said on Friday it would establish a committee to document “Iranian acts of aggression, international crimes and the damages resulting from them.”
The committee, chaired by the attorney general of the Emirates, will prepare documentation “in accordance with the highest legal and technical standards,” using “reliable evidence.” These documents will be introduced as evidence when the UAE seeks to recover damages from Iran in international court.
The UAE Foreign Ministry rejected Iran’s attempts to justify its attacks based on Emirati cooperation with the United States, stating that the UAE’s international relations are a “purely sovereign matter” and cannot be dictated by Tehran.
President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still holding, despite Iran’s attacks on the U.S. destroyers and UAE civilian targets.
“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said of the attack on the American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, on the other hand, accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire by sailing through the Strait of Hormuz and then responding to Iran’s attacks.
“Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure. Is it a crude pressure tactic? Or the result of a spoiler once again duping POTUS into another quagmire?” Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi said on X.
The leftist outlet New York Times (NYT) reported on Friday that the UAE has “doubled down on its alliances with Israel and the United States” in the face of Iranian aggression, even as “President Trump and other American officials have appeared to downplay the attacks this week on the Emirates.”
“There is a trust premium that Trump will do the right thing. What suits his legacy and what suits the American interests suits us,” said Emirati-Lebanese commentator Nadim Koteich.
“There is a growing awareness – both at the leadership and popular levels – that the intense Iranian focus on the U.A.E. has transformed this war into our Sept. 11 moment,” said Emirates Policy Center researcher Marwan Alblosshi.
According to the NYT’s sources, the Emiratis were at first surprised, and then enraged, by Iran’s vicious attacks against them, having previously enjoyed a fairly stable and productive relationship with Tehran.
Some in the UAE suspect Iran’s brutality was driven not by the presence of U.S. forces within the Emirates, but by the UAE’s friendly relations with Israel – a friendship that has grown closer as the Israelis stepped up to protect the UAE from Iranian drones and missiles.
The Emiratis are also appreciative of U.S. defensive systems like the Patriot missile, and view a closer relationship with the United States as their best chance to establish independence from the other Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia.
“The U.S. has been there for us,” said Emirati political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla. “The relationship with the U.S. is an essential pillar for our stability.”
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