Iran warns UAE of crushing response and denies attacks
Updated
Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 5
Iran warns UAE of crushing response and denies attacks
7 articles · Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 5
Spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said the armed forces would retaliate if Iranian islands or ports were targeted from Emirati territory used by US and Israeli forces.
Earlier, the UAE said its air defences were intercepting new Iranian attacks after reporting on Monday that it had stopped 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones.
Those strikes were the first attributed to Tehran since a US-Iran ceasefire took effect last month, underscoring renewed tensions between Iran and a Gulf state hosting key regional bases.
As battles rage in the Strait of Hormuz, how can both the US and Iran claim their fragile ceasefire still holds?
What single event could transform the Iran-US standoff into a direct conflict between global superpowers?
With a 75% failure risk, is seizing Iran's Kharg Island a necessary gamble or a catastrophic economic mistake?
The May 2026 Fujairah Attacks and Strait of Hormuz Blockade: Escalation, Strategic Dilemmas, and Global Energy Crisis
Overview
On May 4, 2026, the UAE's Fujairah Oil Industry Zone was attacked by missiles and drones, which the UAE attributed to Iran. While most projectiles were intercepted, one drone caused a fire and injured three people, prompting the UAE to condemn Iran and issue missile alerts that disrupted regional aviation and caused public panic. Iran denied involvement but warned the UAE against hosting US and Israeli forces, threatening retaliation if the UAE took unwise actions. This attack undermined fragile US-Iran ceasefire talks, leading to stalled negotiations and mediation efforts by Pakistan and China. Concurrently, Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted global shipping, prompting the US to launch Project Freedom, which faced limited success amid ongoing Iranian attacks and escalating military tensions, deepening regional instability and economic fallout.