UAE intercepts drone from Iran, denies air base attack reports
Al Jazeera Staff
The UAE says it intercepted a drone approaching from Iran and denied reports of an attack on its Al Menhad air base, amid renewed US-Iran hostilities. The incident raises tensions in the Gulf region, with diplomatic efforts ongoing to end the conflict.
The UAE Ministry of Defense said its air force intercepted a drone that appeared over its territorial waters, approaching from Iran. The move came after Iran's military claimed it launched dozens of drones at US military targets at the Al Menhad air base in the UAE early Monday.
However, the UAE Ministry of Defense on its X social media account the same day dismissed these reports as “untrue” and urged the public to rely only on official sources and avoid spreading rumors or inaccurate information.
The incident takes place as the US and Iran exchanged retaliatory strikes overnight, raising concerns about the prospects for resolving the conflict that has lasted more than six months.
US forces on Sunday struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, about 660 kilometers east of Kharg Island, according to a US official. In response, Iran attacked two US bases in Jordan and the Al Menhad air base in the UAE, according to Iranian media. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the attacks on Jordan targeted US bases used to launch and support the strike on Larak Island.
Iran's military said the drone attack on the UAE air base targeted areas where US forces and helicopters were stationed, in response to losses at Larak.
Iran has carried out a series of attacks on Gulf states since the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran in late February. But at the urging of Gulf allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, US President Donald Trump ordered the military on August 1 to postpone new strikes against Iran.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Mohammed Gargash condemned the new escalation, saying that “the policy of targeting Arab Gulf states and Jordan has proven to be a failure.” He stressed: “Political solutions must begin with de-escalation and the restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The return to fighting on Sunday came as the Trump administration increased economic pressure on Iran and its business partners with new sanctions, while mediators stepped up efforts to resume negotiations on a potential deal to end the war.
High-level delegations from Omani, Pakistani, and Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran last week to push for negotiations to end the war. The Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in the talks. Last week, Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the strait's international waters, and Iran had been warned that any ship laying new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly declared the Strait of Hormuz open, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called those statements “a clear lie,” emphasizing that the strait remains closed to ships not permitted by Iran to pass. The waterway once carried nearly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
