Iran continued strikes on the United Arab Emirates for the second day, the country’s Defense Ministry confirmed Tuesday evening.
“The UAE, a key American ally, said it came under attack by Iranian missiles and drones for a second straight day on Tuesday,” the Associated Press reported. “At least three people were wounded in attacks the day before, and a drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility in the eastern emirate of Fujairah.”
The UAE armed forces are “actively engaging” with incoming missile and drone attacks from Iran, the Defense Ministry posted on X, adding that “the sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the UAE’s air defence systems intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.
On Monday, Iranian missiles and drones attacked energy infrastructure in the UAE, hitting its key oil facility in Fujairah. The New York Post described the Fujairah facility as the country’s “largest commercial storage hub for refined crude in the region.”
Tuesday’s strikes appear to be targeting the Jebel Ali port, the largest and busiest harbour in the Middle East. “Social media users reported that residents of Dubai – the country’s largest city – heard explosions in the direction of Jebel Ali port. No casualties or damage from the attack had been confirmed at that stage,” the Israel Hayom newspaper reported. “The strike was similar in timing and scale to an Iranian attack carried out on Monday, which caused extensive damage to an energy facility near the city of Fujairah. Three foreign workers were wounded in that strike, and a large fire broke out at the site.”
The strikes came hours after the U.S. Navy repelled Iranian attempts to disrupt the operation “Project Freedom,” ordered by President Trump to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, U.S. destroyers secured the waterway and allowed at least two American-flagged cargo ships to sail through the waterway.
The latest round of Iranian strikes violates the ceasefire declared by President Donald Trump 27 days ago.
Talking to reporters earlier in the day, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that “ceasefire is not over.”
“We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have,” he assured. “Iran knows that, and ultimately, the president can make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire.”
The strikes come “after Iran launched strikes against the close US ally yesterday as well, bringing into question the stability of the ceasefire,” Sky News (UK) noted. “Despite this, and US action in the Strait of Hormuz, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier that Washington did not view the truce as being over.”
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. has effectively dismantled the Iranian navy. “Now they’re reduced to little boats with a machine gun on the front of them because they had a navy of 159 ships!” he said Tuesday evening. “Iran’s Navy is done.”
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