File image.
The United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry announced on August 18 that its air defenses had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
One of the missiles fell inside the UAE’s territorial waters while the other fell outside Emirati territory, the ministry said in a statement, adding that it “remains fully prepared and ready to respond to any threats, and to firmly counter any attempts to undermine the country’s security.”
The statement came shortly after the ministry said in an earlier warning posted to social media that its air defenses had detected an incoming missile.
It is very possible that the missiles were launched at commercial vessels off the coast of the UAE. Iran has been cracking down on maritime traffic from and to the Gulf state.
Two tankers of the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC were also targeted on August 13 while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The very next day, a third tanker belonging to the very same company was hit. No deaths or injuries were reported in any of the attacks.
Earlier on August 18, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it received a report that a commercial vessel was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound in the Strait of Hormuz, causing engine room damage and a crew casualty. Maritime security sources later identified the vessel as Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Dignity.
Iran tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks amid growing tensions with the United States, despite reports of a near deal to reopen the waterway.
Parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf vowed ahead of the missile attack on the UAE that the Islamic Republic will not reopen the waterway until the U.S. fulfills its commitments under a memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides.
He later said in an X post that the “Americans think squeezing Iran harder will win concessions that were never part of the agreement.”
All recent developments indicate that another round of fighting between Iran and the U.S. is around the corner. This does not mean, however, that the war will resume.
Further U.S. strikes will not likely force the Islamic Republic to make concessions. The conflict could easily drag on to the end of President Donald Trump’s term.
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