Iran launched a drone toward the United Arab Emirates on Monday, marking the latest retaliatory strike in the region after the United States carried out a new round of airstrikes over the weekend.
The UAE’s Defense Ministry said the drone was intercepted over territorial waters early Monday, rejecting the Iranian army’s assertion that it had struck Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai.
UAE officials condemned the attack near the country’s shores and urged a swift push toward a broader peace agreement, saying any settlement must go beyond June’s memorandum of understanding, which one Dubai official described as a failure.
“This dangerous escalation constitutes a blatant violation of the UAE’s sovereignty, security, and stability, and a direct threat to the safety of its citizens and residents,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said the region’s current trajectory was untenable as the US and Iran resumed exchanges of fire in a conflict that has stretched beyond six months.
“The state of neither war nor peace cannot be a sustainable solution, just as the policy of targeting the Arab Gulf states and Jordan has proven to be a failure,” Gargash wrote on X, referring to Iran’s attack on Jordan.
“What is needed today are realistic and sustainable political solutions that address the political and economic dimensions of the crisis, beginning with overcoming the escalation and returning navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to its normal state, and extending to a more realistic approach that goes beyond the memorandum of understanding that failed to outline a practical and acceptable roadmap,” he added.
The UAE, which has halted all trade with Iran in a significant blow to the Islamic Republic, warned that it would not hesitate to respond to any military aggression from Tehran.
Qatar, which has served as mediators in the Middle East, also condemned the attacks on the UAE and Jordan, warning that a return to active war would only risk further destabilizing the region.
“The continuation of these attacks represents a dangerous escalation that would complicate efforts aimed at containing tensions and undermine political and diplomatic efforts seeking to achieve security and stability in the region,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
President Trump has warned that the US will hit Iran “hard” in response to the latest attack, with the US leader posting an AI-generated video on Sunday of Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub being “blown to smithereens.”
With Post wires
