UAE halts all trade, financial ties with Iran after Tehran missile scare

The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice, citing regional escalation that it said undermined regional and international peace and security.Afra Al Hameli, director of the Strategic Communications Department at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the decision in the early hours of Wednesday, as reported by Khaleej Times.“In light of regional escalations... all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” Al Hameli said.Al Hameli also said the UAE rejects all claims regarding the status of its economic relations with Iran. At the same time, she said the UAE remains committed to “dialogue, cooperation, and regional integration as essential means to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.” The announcement came after the UAE's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran. The incident marked the first such reported incident since a May 4 strike on the Fujairah port.The UAE Defence Ministry said the missiles were targeting “maritime traffic”, based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it added. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the UAE's statement early Wednesday, describing it as “baseless.”The missile launch came as a 60-day window for US-Iranian peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough. The development has raised fears of a new escalation in the conflict, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February.“The Defence Ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilise the state's security,” the UAE ministry said.The UAE Interior Ministry sent a phone alert to residents on Tuesday, saying the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after an earlier alert warning of a missile threat.The UAE had also recently accused Iran of attacking its state-owned ADNOC vessels while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels.Iran's Revolutionary Guards have previously threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran's adversaries or fail to comply with Iranian directives.The UAE's decision to halt trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran remains in effect until further notice.- EndsPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 08:13 IST