UAE denies Al Menhad airbase attack, intercepts Iranian drone
UAE Ministry of Defence labels reports of base strike as false while confirming interception of drone approaching from Iran
Quick Look
- The UAE denied reports of an attack on its Al Menhad airbase, instead reporting the interception of an Iranian drone over its territorial waters.
- The incident follows renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, including US strikes on Larak Island.
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Why It Matters
The US and Iran have been in a conflict for over six months, with recent tensions centered on the Strait of Hormuz. US forces recently struck Iranian launchers on Larak Island.
The United Arab Emirates says it has engaged a drone coming from Iran over its waters and denied reports of an attack on its Al Menhad airbase, after the United States and Iran resumed hostilities for the first time since July.
Iran’s army said in a statement cited by Iranian news agencies that dozens of drones were launched at US military assets at the Al Menhad airbase in the UAE early on Monday.
In a statement on X on Monday, the UAE’s Ministry of Defence described the reports as “false” and “urged the public to rely on official sources for information and to refrain from circulating rumours or inaccurate information”.
Later, the ministry said the UAE’s air force intercepted a drone “over the country’s territorial waters, approaching from Iran”.
The incident comes after the US and Iran exchanged attacks overnight, further denting hopes for a resolution of the more than six-month-long conflict.
US forces on Sunday struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak Island, some 660km (410 miles) east of Kharg Island, a US official said. Iran retaliated by attacking two bases used by US forces in Jordan and the UAE’s Al Menhad airbase, according to Iranian media.
The Jordan strikes targeted US bases used to launch and support the attack on Larak, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Iranian army said its drone attack on the UAE’s airbase targeted sites where US forces and helicopters were stationed in response to the Larak casualties.
Iran has carried out a wave of attacks on Gulf countries since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in late February. But at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, US President Donald Trump said on August 1 he would order the military to hold off on new strikes on Iran.
The UAE’s presidential adviser, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, condemned the renewed escalation, saying “the policy of targeting the Arab Gulf states and Jordan has proven to be a failure”.
“Political solutions must begin with de-escalation and restoring normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Gargash added.
Sunday’s return to hostilities comes after the Trump administration ramped up economic pressure on Iran and its business partners with new sanctions, and mediators intensified efforts to resume negotiations on a potential deal to end the war.
High-level delegations from mediators Oman, Pakistan and Qatar visited Tehran last week in an effort to advance negotiations to bring the war to an end.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a crucial sticking point during negotiations. Last week, Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait, and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has called those statements “an obvious lie”, reiterating that it remains closed to ships without Iranian permission to transit.
The waterway carried nearly a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war.
Open Questions
- Will the US respond to the reported attacks in Jordan?
- What is the status of the diplomatic negotiations in Tehran?
