UAE cuts off trade with Iran after ballistic-missile attack

Despite their regional rivalry, the UAE has long been one of Iran’s top trading partners and UAE-based entities attempting to use the country as a haven for Iranian assets are frequently targeted by U.S. sanctions.

By Andrew Bernard, JNS

The United Arab Emirates announced that it was cutting off trade with Iran after the Islamic Republic fired two ballistic missiles at the country in Iran’s first attack against the UAE in months.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense said that the pair of missiles were targeting maritime shipping and fell into the sea without causing damage.

An earlier statement said the missiles were detected by the country’s air defenses and that one had fallen within UAE territorial waters.

The attempted strike prompted air defense alerts for residents in Dubai and the neighboring emirate of Sharjah.

Hours after the attack, Afra Al Hameli, director of the UAE foreign ministry’s strategic communications department, said that the country was cutting its economic ties with Iran.

“In light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security, all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” Al Hameli said.

Despite their regional rivalry, the UAE has long been one of Iran’s top trading partners and UAE-based entities attempting to use the country as a haven for Iranian assets are frequently targeted by U.S. sanctions.

Since the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran in February, the UAE has been the target of more Iranian missile and drone attacks than any other country in the region

As of early April, the UAE said that it had intercepted nearly 3,000 Iranian missiles and drones, but there have not been any successful strikes on the country since a May 4 attack damaged an industrial petroleum complex in Fujairah, a port on the Gulf of Oman with a critical oil pipeline that bypasses the contested Strait of Hormuz.

The attack comes as the United States and Iran remain deadlocked over the status of the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Iran has used the time since the signing of a ceasefire memorandum in mid-June to prepare for an escalating conflict and has ramped up missile and drone production.

On Monday, the 60-day deadline described in the memorandum of understanding to reach a final ceasefire deal expired, with neither side suggesting that the conflict was nearing a conclusion.

“There are no talks or conversations going on or scheduled with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Tuesday. “The naval blockade remains in full force and effect.”

Trump spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan by telephone shortly before the attempted missile strike and discussed “the latest developments in the Middle East and ongoing efforts to address them,” according to the state-run Emirates News Agency.

The United States has not yet issued a corresponding readout of the call.