UAE says two ballistic missiles fired from Iran landed at sea; suspends all trade ties

CAIRO: The United Arab Emirates has said its defence ministry detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran on Tuesday, marking the first such incident since a strike on the Fujairah port on May 4.

Both missiles fell into the sea after being aimed at “maritime traffic,” the ministry said in a statement, based on its own assessments.

Following the missile threat, the UAE announced it was suspending all trade activities, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice. Abu Dhabi said the move came in response to an escalation that it believes undermines regional and international peace and security.

Iran, however, has denied the allegation. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed the UAE’s statement as “baseless” early on Wednesday.

The missile launch comes as a 60-day window for U.S.-Iranian peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough, raising fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February.

“The defense ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilize the state’s security,” it said in a statement.

The UAE’s interior ministry sent a phone alert earlier on Tuesday to residents stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after an earlier alert warning of a missile threat.

The UAE had accused Iran recently of attacking its state-owned ADNOC vessels while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have previously ​threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries ​or fail to comply with Iranian directives.