The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait reported on Wednesday that they had documented airstrikes, mostly on their energy facilities, that they attributed to Iran, hours after Iran and the United States announced they had agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
Iran has been in an active conflict with the United States and Israel since February 28, when President Donald Trump announced the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a military engagement meant to erase Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors or potentially develop nuclear weapons. In response to the American attack, which eliminated “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s terror network and armed forces launched widespread drone and missile strikes against over a dozen of its neighboring countries, most prolifically targeting the lucrative energy infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and other neighboring states. Countries with unclear relevance to the conflict, including Azerbaijan and Cyprus, also documented Iranian attacks.
On Tuesday, after threatening to destroy Iranian civilization, President Donald Trump announced that, through the mediation of Pakistan, Washington and Tehran had come to an agreement on a two-week ceasefire and would soon meet to discuss the terms of a peace plan. Trump acknowledged an allegedly Iranian-written ten-point peace plan as a jumping-off point for negotiations.
While the Iranian government, through Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, acknowledged the ceasefire, neighboring Gulf states that were not clearly involved in the peace process documented Iranian attacks against them mere hours after the alleged ceasefire began.
The Emirati Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had “engaged 17 ballistic missiles and 35 UAV’s launched from Iran,” the latest in a consistent air assault on the country by the Iranian terror state.
“The Ministry of Defense affirmed that it remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country,” a statement from the ministry read, “in a manner that ensures the protection of its sovereignty, security, and stability and safeguards its interests and national capabilities.”
Similarly, the government of Bahrain reported that two individuals, presumably civilians with no known ties to the conflict, were injured on Wednesday after Iran launched a drone at the country which Bahrain’s military intercepted.
“Two citizens sustained minor injuries and a number of houses were damaged in the Sitra area as a result of shrapnel falling from the interception of an Iranian drone,” the Bahraini Interior Ministry documented, adding that the country also put out a fire related to “Iranian aggression,” without elaborating.
In Kuwait, the armed forces reported intercepting an “intense wave” of Iranian attacks beginning on Wednesday morning.
“Since eight o’clock this morning until now, Kuwaiti air defenses have been dealing with an intense wave of sinful hostile Iranian attacks, as (28) drones were dealt with, targeting the State of Kuwait,” the Saudi news agency Al Arabiya quoted the Kuwaiti military explaining in a statement. Kuwaiti officials also verified that Iran launched a wave of drones targeting its “vital oil facilities and power stations in the south of the country, resulting in severe material damage.”
The Saudi Ministry of Defense also documented attacks it attributed to Iran, reporting that it had intercepted nine drones on Wednesday following the ceasefire announcement. It did not offer any further information on the situation. Anonymous reports in global media suggested that the attacks went further. Reuters, citing an “industry source,” claimed on Wednesday that Iran attacked a Saudi pipeline traversing the country as it was being used to transfer oil across the country into the Red Sea, making shipping through the Strait of Hormuz unnecessary. Iran had, for much of the conflict, effectively shut down safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route primarily connecting Middle East fuel powers to buyers such as China and South Korea, forcing affected countries to find shipping alternatives.
After some of the tensest moments in Operation Epic Fury, following several alarming messages by President Trump threatening to destroy the entire civilian infrastructure of Iran, the president and Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi announced on Tuesday night an agreement to begin to end the conflict with a two-week ceasefire. On Wednesday morning, Trump announced that the United States would continue “hangin’ around” the Strait of Hormuz to ensure free passage.
Many of the Gulf states issued statements following the announcement of a ceasefire supporting the development. Saudi Arabia offered its “support for the mediation efforts led by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to reach a lasting agreement.”
“The Kingdom emphasized the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to navigation in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday read, adding Riyadh “hopes that this ceasefire will provide an opportunity to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable de-escalation.”
A senior Emirati official, presidential adviser Anwar Gargash, declared victory for his country, which was not directly part of the conflict.
“UAE triumphed in a war we sincerely sought to avoid,” he stated in a social media comment. “We prevailed through an epic national defense that safeguarded sovereignty and dignity and protected our achievements in the face of treacherous aggression.”
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