The United Arab Emirates said Friday its air defense systems were actively intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, one day after the U.S. and Iranian forces traded fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
At least three people have been injured as a result of the strikes, though it remains unclear what the missiles and drones were targeting. Iran has not claimed direct responsibility for the Friday attacks.
The strikes come after the UAE faced intense bombardments earlier this week in reaction to the launch of Project Freedom, the U.S.’s plan to guide commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
The UAE’s Defense Ministry reported its systems intercepted 15 missiles and four drones that were launched by Iran Monday, resulting in three injuries. The attacks also caused a “large fire” at the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone, which processes approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil per day.
Iran said it had not conducted any attacks on the UAE in recent days after the Monday strikes.
Still, Iran has increasingly viewed the UAE as a major antagonist in its war with Israel and the U.S, with some indicating the Gulf nation should be viewed as a “hostile base” for Iran’s enemies.
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Iran also blamed the UAE, along with the U.S, for the reported attacks on Qeshm Island, a major shipping center on the country’s coast, and on Tehran on Thursday.
Those strikes came after exchanges of fire between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. U.S. Central Command said in a statement its forces “eliminated inbound threats” after being attacked by Iranian missiles, drones and small boats.
In response, CENTCOM said, U.S. forces attacked Iranian military facilities “responsible for attacking U.S. forces,” including intelligence sites, missile launch zones and command and control locations.
Iran asserted that its attacks on vessels in the strait were in response to U.S. violations of the ceasefire a day earlier, when U.S. ships were accused of attacking an Iranian oil tanker moving toward the Strait of Hormuz.
