An Emirati official rejected as “fake news” Hebrew media reports Sunday that said the United Arab Emirates had carried out a “symbolic” military strike in Iran, while another source denounced the claims as “inappropriate.”
The reports cited anonymous Israeli officials as saying that the UAE had struck a desalination plant in Iran after consultations between Israeli and Emirati officials over the weekend, in response to Tehran’s strikes across the Gulf during the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.
“This is fake news. When we do something, we’ve the courage to announce it,” UAE Federal National Council Defense Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs chairman Rashid Al Nuaimi wrote on X.
“We categorically deny this nonsense. If the UAE does something or takes an action, it will announce it and make it public,” an Emirati source told The Times of Israel.
“The UAE is not in the business of denying or approving rumors… It is inappropriate for so-called ‘Israeli senior officials’ to talk on our behalf and/or spread rumors about UAE actions or intentions. The UAE doesn’t make statements on other countries’ actions nor their intentions, so we expect our friendly countries’ officials to refrain from doing so,” the source added.
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The Emirati foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.
Separately, the UAE defense ministry said that the death toll from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the country had risen to four.
UAE air defences intercept 16 ballistic missiles, 113 UAVs
UAE air defences today (8th March, 2026) detected 17 ballistic missiles, of which 16 were destroyed, while 1 missile fell into the sea. A total of 117 UAVs were also detected, with 113 intercepted, while 4 UAVs fell… pic.twitter.com/BTikC5pRyd
— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) March 8, 2026
“These attacks resulted in 4 deaths among Pakistani, Nepalese and Bangladeshi nationals, and 112 people sustained moderate to minor injuries,” the ministry said in a post on X.
The ministry said that 16 of 17 ballistic missiles fired by Iran were shot down and one fell into the sea, and that 117 UAVs were detected Sunday, with 113 intercepted while four fell within Emirati territory.
In another development, Bahrain accused Iran of striking a desalination plant on Sunday, raising fears that civilian infrastructure may become fair game in the war.
Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations.
In Kuwait, about 90 percent of drinking water comes from desalination, along with roughly 86% in Oman and about 70% in Saudi Arabia. Iran has already fired missiles and drones at all three of those countries and the UAE, as well as others hosting US bases, as it lashes back at the intense joint US-Israeli air campaign that began on February 28. Iran has also been firing missiles and drones at Israel, causing civilian casualties and destruction in cities.
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