Dubai, UAE — May 2026 — The United Arab Emirates came under renewed Iranian attack on Monday, as its air defense systems intercepted 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles, and four drones in a single day, leaving three people with moderate injuries.
The strike is the latest in a sustained Iranian offensive that has drawn fierce condemnation from Abu Dhabi and triggered warnings of retaliation.
The UAE Ministry of Defense said that since the beginning of what it called Iran’s “flagrant aggression,” its air defenses have engaged a cumulative total of 549 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,260 drones.
The overall wounded toll since hostilities began stands at 227, spanning more than thirty nationalities including Emirati, Egyptian, Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Nepali, and Russian, among others.
The conflict has claimed 13 lives in total. Three of the dead were military-related, among them a Moroccan civilian contractor serving with the armed forces. The remaining ten were civilians of Pakistani, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Palestinian, Indian, and Egyptian nationality.
The same day, Iran targeted an ADNOC-owned oil tanker with two drones as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz. No casualties were reported in that attack.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strike as an act of “piracy by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps” and a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which upholds freedom of navigation and prohibits attacks on commercial shipping or interference with international maritime corridors.
Abu Dhabi warned that using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic pressure or blackmail posed a direct threat to regional stability and global energy security.
In a sweeping statement, the Foreign Ministry described the combined attacks on civilian sites and the tanker as a serious and unacceptable escalation, in violation of international law and the UN Charter.
It held Iran fully responsible for the attacks and all their consequences, and affirmed that the UAE reserves its full and legitimate right to respond in defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its citizens, residents, and visitors.
The ministry called for an immediate and unconditional halt to all hostile acts and the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, stating that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure was condemned by every standard of law and human decency.
The Ministry of Defense, for its part, said it remains on full alert and is prepared to confront any threat with firmness.
