Iran Launches Missiles, Drones at UAE Facilities Near Strait of Hormuz

Missiles and drones were detected over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday morning, May 5, 2026, marking the second day of Iranian attacks on the Gulf nation. The UAE Ministry of Defense reported that air defense systems were responding to the missile threat. The ministry also warned civilians to take shelter amid the ongoing assault.

The attacks on May 5 came just under 24 hours after Iran conducted drone strikes that set fire to tankers and the UAE’s largest oil storage facility on Monday, May 4, 2026. Iran fired 15 missiles and drones at UAE ships and facilities around the Strait of Hormuz on May 4, targeting the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone.

That zone serves as the largest commercial storage hub for refined crude in the Middle East.

These strikes represent the first such assaults since a cease-fire with Iran went into effect prior to May 4, 2026. The UAE foreign ministry stated that the attacks constitute a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression. Abu Dhabi officials detailed the May 4 assault, which saw smoke billowing from the Fujairah oil industry zone as captured in social media images via Reuters.

Iran also attacked a coastal town in Oman located just past the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian opposition media reported a huge explosion and a plume of smoke in western Tehran on Monday, May 4, 2026, shortly after the drone and missile attack on the UAE. The timing linked the Tehran incident to the broader regional tensions.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that Iran’s latest attacks in the Gulf do not constitute an end to the cease-fire. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, echoed that assessment, telling reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, that Iran’s recent acts of aggression are below the threshold of major combat operations.

Both officials emphasized the persistence of the truce despite the strikes. Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country’s parliament speaker, wrote on X that his nation would enforce a new Iran-led order along the strait. ” His statement underscored Tehran’s intent to challenge the existing dynamics in the region.

A proposed UN resolution demands that Iran halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and stop illegal tolls. The measure reflects international efforts to address the escalating threats to maritime traffic. World leaders from Europe, India, Lebanon, and Pakistan have called for the strikes to end immediately, according to reports.

President Trump, in a Monday night interview, declined to say whether Iran’s attacks are capable of restarting war. S. The UAE reserved the right to a full and legitimate response to the attacks, as stated by its foreign ministry.

Smoke from the May 4 strikes on the Fujairah zone highlighted the physical impact, with drones setting fire to tankers in the area. The assaults threatened to unravel the cease-fire, where Iran claims it will not lose control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media and opposition reports painted contrasting pictures of the events, with the Tehran explosion adding an internal dimension to the conflict.

U.S. officials, including Hegseth and Caine, maintained that the aggression fell short of breaching the cease-fire threshold. The UN proposal seeks to curb further attacks and illegal activities in the strait, aiming to restore stability.