The United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, in the first such incident reported since a May 4 strike on Fujairah port.
In a statement issued later, the ministry said its assessment indicated that the missiles targeted “maritime traffic”. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the UAE’s statement early on Wednesday, describing it as “baseless.”
Following the missile threat, the UAE said it had suspended all trade activities, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice.
The UAE said the move was in response to an escalation that it believed threatened regional and international peace and security.
The missile launch came as a 60-day window for US-Iranian peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough. The development has raised fears of renewed fighting in a conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February.
“The defense ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilize the state’s security,” it said in a statement.
The UAE’s Interior Ministry sent a phone alert to residents on Tuesday saying the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities.
The alert followed an earlier warning about a missile threat.
The UAE has recently accused Iran of attacking vessels owned by state oil company ADNOC while they were travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously threatened action against vessels travelling through the strait if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries or fail to comply with Iranian directives.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
