UAE secretly struck Iran’s oil refinery on Lavan Island
The UAE could strike Iran and escalate the conflict in the region (Photo: REUTERS)
The United Arab Emirates may have secretly carried out military strikes on Iran, escalating tensions and triggering retaliatory attacks between the two countries, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter on May 12.
According to the sources, one of the attacks targeted an oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf. The strike took place in early April, around the time U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire following a five-week air campaign. The attack triggered a major fire at the facility, and a significant part of its production capacity was knocked out for several months, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Iran at the time said the refinery had come under a hostile attack and later launched massive missile and drone strikes on the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
According to one source, U.S. officials did not express dissatisfaction over the strike because the ceasefire had not yet fully taken effect. At the same time, Washington unofficially viewed the participation of the UAE and other Persian Gulf countries in the hostilities positively.
The UAE has not officially acknowledged involvement in the strikes. The country’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the reports but referred to previous statements in which the Emirates reserved the right to respond to hostile actions, including through military means.
U.S. officials also avoided direct comment. The White House said only that Trump had “all possible options” regarding Iran and that Washington retained maximum leverage over the Iranian regime.
Analyst Dina Esfandiary said the UAE’s involvement in the conflict sends an important signal across the region. She noted that it marked the first time a Gulf Arab monarchy had directly struck Iran, and Tehran could now seek to deepen divisions between the UAE and other regional states.
The newspaper noted that Iran had launched more than 2,800 missiles and drones at the country — more than against any other state, including Israel.
The WSJ added that speculation about the UAE’s involvement in the war intensified in mid-March, when a fighter jet that belonged neither to the United States nor Israel was spotted over Iran. Researchers also pointed to photographs of French Mirage fighter jets and Chinese-made Wing Loong drones used by the Emirates.
On May 4, the UAE Defense Ministry said Iran had attacked the country with four missiles. Three of them were intercepted over UAE territorial waters, the ministry said.
Later, the UAE Defense Ministry said the country’s air defense systems had intercepted 19 Iranian missiles and drones on May 4. UAE officers said Iran launched 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones that day, leaving three people moderately injured.
On May 5, Iran denied involvement in attacks on UAE territory, calling the accusations baseless and warning of a “devastating” response to any action taken against it.
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