There are no immediate reports of casualties, and there has been no immediate comment from Iran.
Published On 4 May 20264 May 2026
Air defences in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have intercepted missiles and incoming drone attacks from Iran.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said late on Monday afternoon that it was intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones across the country. It later reported that three missiles had been intercepted, with a fourth falling into the sea.
The strikes came as tension in the Gulf increased, with efforts to extend the ceasefire in the United States-Israeli war on Iran having failed to make a breakthrough, and rhetoric remaining elevated on both sides as they face off regarding the blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior Iranian military official said later on state TV that “Iran had no plans to target the UAE”.
The emirate of Fujairah said that an Iranian drone sparked a fire at an oil facility. Civil defence teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze, the Fujairah Media Office said in a statement, adding that three Indian citizens had been moderately injured during the attack and taken to hospital.
The drone attacks shattered a period of relative calm in the UAE since a Pakistani-mediated ceasefire between Washington and Tehran began on April 8, pausing more than two months of fighting in the Gulf region.
The UAE was heavily targeted by retaliatory strikes from Iran, and intercepted and destroyed thousands of Iranian drones and missiles.
The UAE is the most targeted country by Iran’s retaliatory strikes (Getty Images)
Tension was high throughout Monday after Donald Trump declared that the US military would start an operation to help trapped commercial vessels leave the blockaded Strait of Hormuz by guiding them through the waterway.
The president claimed it was a humanitarian effort to help stranded crews.
Iranian media reported that Iran’s navy had fired “warning shots” at US warships near the strait.
The UAE strongly condemned an Iranian drone attack on the oil tanker Barakah off the coast of Oman. UAE state oil giant ADNOC reported that no one was injured and the vessel was not loaded.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been deadlocked since the ceasefire started on April 8, with Tehran’s stranglehold on the strait a main point of contention.
The ceasefire, reached via Pakistani mediation, was followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no agreement was reached on a lasting peace.
Trump later extended the ceasefire without setting a new deadline, following a request from Pakistan.