The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from Iran towards the Gulf state.
“[A]ssessments revealed the two ballistic missiles detected, originating from Iran, were targeting maritime navigation and fell into the sea,” the Ministry of Defence posted on X.
The UAE later announced that “all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice.”
The director of the Strategic Communications Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Afra al-Hameli, said the reason for the suspension was “regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security.”
The country was on the highest level of alert, the ministry said. There was initially no response from Iran.
A Dubai resident told dpa that panic broke out among residents after they received text messages or phone alerts instructing them to seek shelter.
The Emirates came under particularly heavy attack at the start of the Iran war in late February. The last time the UAE intercepted missiles from Iran was in early May.
Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar host major US military bases, making them potential targets for Iranian retaliatory strikes.
A framework agreement reached between Iran and the United States in mid-June was intended to establish a ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pave the way for a long-term peace settlement.
The agreement set a 60-day deadline to resolve particularly contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme. That deadline has since expired without diplomatic progress.
Both sides have violated the agreed ceasefire and other provisions of the deal in recent weeks, although the frequency of attacks has declined recently.