Fire broke out at a major UAE oil industry zone on Monday after a drone attack originating from Iran, authorities said, as the Gulf state’s military separately intercepted three Iranian missiles over its waters and a fourth crashed into the sea.
It was the first time the UAE came under attack by Iran since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April. The attacks appeared to be in response to US President Donald Trump´s latest efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy.
The UAE Defense Ministry said Iran had launched four cruise missiles, with three shot down and one falling into the sea. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said an Iranian drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.
The attacks came after the US military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz after it launched a new initiative to restore traffic Monday.
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told reporters that American forces have opened a passage through the strait and that US military helicopters have sunk six Iranian small boats that were targeting civilian vessels. He said Iran has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at ships the US military is protecting, and that “each and every one” of the threats had been defeated.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy. The US-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships Monday to cross the strait in Oman´s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”
Reports of new attacks raised doubts as to whether shipping companies, and their insurers, would take such a risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so. Iran has said the new US effort is a violation of the fragile ceasefire that has held for more than three weeks.
The US military´s Central Command said the two American-flagged merchant ships were “safely headed on their journey” after transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It said Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf were helping to restore traffic.
Its statement on X said that US destroyers had also transited the strait. It did not say when the Navy ships arrived or when the merchant vessels departed.
Meanwhile, Iran said it had forced a US warship to turn back from entering the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, although US Central Command quickly denied a report of a missile strike.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.
In an interview with FOX News on Monday, US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran, stating that the country would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if US vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump highlighted the United States’ military capabilities, asserting that the US was better equipped than ever before. “We have more weapons and ammunition at a much higher grade than we had before,” he said, emphasising the superiority of American military resources.
Separately, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that as a “confidence-building measure” by the United States, 22 crew members on an Iranian ship that was seized by US forces had been evacuated to Pakistan.
The statement came hours after American outlet ABC News reported that an Iranian ship seized by the US after it “failed to comply” with the blockade imposed by the country on Iranian ports had been transferred to Pakistan for repatriation.
Subsequently, FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on the social media platform X, “As a confidence-building measure by the United States of America, twenty-two crew members held aboard the seized Iranian container ship, ‘MV Touska’, have been evacuated to Pakistan.”
“The individuals, who were flown to Pakistan last night, will be handed over to the Iranian authorities today,” he said.
“The Iranian ship will also be back-loaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs,” Andrabi said, adding that these returns were being coordinated in tandem with the support of both sides.
“Pakistan welcomes such confidence-building measures and will continue to facilitate dialogue and diplomacy while pursuing ongoing mediation efforts for regional peace and security,” he said.
Reiterating the details on X, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar observed that the developments “surely constitute an important confidence-building measure”.
Expressing Pakistan’s appreciation to the US and Iran, Dar affirmed that Islamabad remained “committed to facilitating dialogue, diplomacy, and mediation for the regional peace and security”.