ABU DHABI, Aug 19 (Alliance News): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday suspended all trade activities, exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice, citing regional escalation that it said threatened regional and international peace and security.
The decision followed a UAE Defence Ministry statement that two ballistic missiles had been launched from Iran on Tuesday. The ministry said the missiles targeted “maritime traffic” but both fell into the sea.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the UAE’s claims as “baseless” and urged regional countries to avoid what he called unsubstantiated accusations against Iran.
Baghaei said any assessment of the situation should take into account what he described as continued “malicious actions” by the United States and Israel against regional peace and security.
The missile incident came after a 60-day period for US-Iran peace talks expired without a breakthrough, raising concerns about further escalation and its impact on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The UAE Defence Ministry said it remained fully prepared to respond to any threats and protect the country’s security.
The UAE had also recently accused Iran of attacking state-owned ADNOC vessels while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not claimed responsibility for those incidents.
