UAE halts all trade with Iran after missile attack claim; Tehran denies
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Aug 19, 2026 12:12 PM IST
The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran for now, even as it accused Iranian forces of launching two ballistic missiles towards the country, a claim that Iran has denied.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said the decision was taken in response to escalations that undermine peace and security in the region.
The ministry said all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran had been halted until further notice, Al Jazeera reported.
Residents across the UAE received an emergency alert on Tuesday evening after authorities warned of a missile threat in the country. The alert was issued around past 6.30 pm (local time). However, it was lifted about 10 minutes later after authorities confirmed that the situation was “safe”.
Missiles launches detected
UAE Defence Minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said its air defence systems detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the country. The first missile fell outside UAE territorial waters, while the second fell within them, Khaleej Times reported. Later, it was reported that both missiles were targeting UAE’s maritime navigation before plunging into the sea.
Authorities said unusual noise heard in Dubai and other parts of the country was due to air defence operations as the threat was being dealt with. The UAE alleged that Iran was behind the missile launches.
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Wednesday rejected the UAE’s claim that Iran was behind missiles launched towards the Gulf country a day earlier, calling the allegations baseless. Baghaei dismissed the UAE’s statement denying any Iranian involvement in the missile launches.
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The last missile warning in the UAE was issued in May, while a separate alert in June was later confirmed to be a false alarm. The June warning was caused by a technical malfunction in the country’s national early warning system, which mistakenly sent mobile alerts to residents about a possible missile threat. Authorities have advised residents to rely only on official channels for updates and follow instructions issued by emergency services.
UAE condemns Israeli strikes in Syria
The UAE condemned what it described as confirmed Israeli airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase in Syria’s Idlib Governorate, calling them a violation of Syrian sovereignty and international law.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said it “condemns in the strongest terms” the Israeli raids and reaffirmed its rejection of any actions that threaten Syria’s security and stability.
The Ministry added, “The UAE categorically rejects any infringement on the sovereignty of Syria or threats to its security and stability.”
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Trump on US-Iran talks
Following the strike, US President Donald Trump stated that talks between US and Iran were neither taking place nor scheduled, while insisting that the Strait of Hormuz remained “open and operating” despite limited shipping traffic and a reported strike on a vessel leaving the waterway, according to Associated Press reports.
Earlier this week, Trump also threatened to bomb Oman as Muscat sought to broker an agreement with Iran over shipping through the strait, according to two regional officials. The officials said the threat was made a day after Trump warned that the US could take action if Oman “gets in the way”.
