‘Dangerous escalation’

The UAE—a close US ally and key Arab partner of Israel—said it was targeted by a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran, calling the attacks “a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression”.

A strike targeting an energy installation in the emirate of Fujairah injured three Indian nationals, UAE authorities said.

They said four cruise missiles were launched, with three successfully shot down and another falling into the sea.

Iran also fired drones at a tanker affiliated with the UAE’s state-owned oil giant ADNOC, authorities said.

A senior Iranian military official did not deny the strikes but said the Islamic republic had “no pre-planned programme to attack the oil facilities in question”.

“What happened was the product of the US military’s adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through” the Strait of Hormuz, the official said, according to state television.

“The US military must be held accountable for it.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi—seen as a moderate in the cleric-run state—said the clashes showed there was “no military solution to a political crisis” and pointed to Pakistan’s efforts to keep mediating.

“The US should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock,” he wrote on X.