UAE countering Iranian air attack after Trump says ceasefire still in effect

[WASHINGTON/CAIRO] US ally the United Arab Emirates said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats from Iran early on Friday (May 8) in a further test of the shaky, month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran.

There were few details immediately available about the latest attack on the UAE, which came a day after the US and Iran exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, and as Washington awaited a response from Teheran to its proposal to end the conflict.

Iran has often targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases since the war began on Feb 28.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, a conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows that Iran has all but closedsince the conflict started.

“Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump later told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange.

“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” Trump said in Washington.

Iran’s top joint military command accused the US of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the mainland. The military said it responded by attacking US military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted “significant damage,” but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.

Iran’s Press TV later reported that, following several hours of fire, “the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now.”

The two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on Apr 7, with Iran hitting targets in Gulf countries including the UAE.

Oil prices rose in early trade in Asia on Friday, with Brent crude jumping above US$100 a barrel after the latest clashes between the US and Iran.

Trump urges negotiated end to war

Trump suggested ongoing talks with Teheran remained on track despite Thursday’s hostilities, telling reporters, “We’re negotiating with the Iranians.”

Before the latest strikes, the US had floated a proposal that would formally end the conflict but did not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and ​reopen the strait. Teheran said it had not yet reached a decision on the emerging plan. Even so, Trump said Teheran had acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was spelled out in the US proposal.

“There’s zero chance. And they know that, and they’ve agreed to that. Let’s see if they are willing to sign it,” Trump said.

Asked when any deal might be reached, Trump said, “It might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want to deal more than I do.”

The war has tested Trump’s relationship with his US base of supporters, after he had campaigned against involving the United States in foreign wars and promised to bring down fuel prices.

Average US gasoline prices have climbed more than 40 per cent since late February, rising by about US$1.20 a gallon to more than US$4, according to data from the American Automobile Association, as disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil prices higher. REUTERS