Fujairah oil zone hit by drone attack as UAE says it intercepted Iranian missiles

Fire broke out at a major UAE oil industry zone on Monday after a drone attack originating from Iran, ​authorities said, as the Gulf state’s military separately intercepted three Iranian ‌missiles over its waters and a fourth crashed into the sea.

Civil defence teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, the Fujairah Media Office ​said in a statement, adding that three Indian citizens were moderately injured ​in the attack and taken to the hospital.

The UAE defence ministry said ⁠on X that its forces had intercepted three missiles, with a fourth falling ​into the sea.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy issued a map it said showed an ​expansion of areas under Iranian control near the Strait of Hormuz, encompassing the UAE ports of Fujairah and Khorfakkan as well as the coast of the Umm Al Quwain emirate, Iranian ​news agencies reported.

The drone attacks shattered a period of relative calm in the ​UAE since a Pakistani-mediated ceasefire between Washington and Tehran took effect on April 8, pausing more ‌than ⁠two months of intense fighting in the Gulf region.

During the period of intense conflict, the UAE said it had intercepted and destroyed thousands of drones and missiles.

UAE authorities on Monday issued mobile phone alerts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi warning ​of the possibility of ​missile attacks.

Monday’s strike ⁠was not the first time Fujairah’s energy infrastructure had been in the crosshairs. A drone attack on March 14 had ​previously hit the Port of Fujairah, triggering fires and the ​suspension of ⁠some oil-loading operations.

Fujairah has been critical to UAE oil exports during the Iran war as it sits at the end of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, which ⁠carries ​crude from inland fields to the Gulf of ​Oman, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

This has allowed the UAE to continue shipping oil to global markets ​even as the waterway remained under threat.