UAE intercepts Iranian drone after US-Iran weekend strikes escalate tensions

The UAE said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters after a weekend of US-Iran exchanges. The episode sharpens Gulf security concerns as diplomacy and threats move in parallel.Image used for representational purposes onlyThe United Arab Emirates said its air force intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters on Monday, in an incident that came after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend. It marked the first significant military action in about a month in a war that has lasted for more than six months.In a brief statement, the UAE Defence Ministry said it had "dealt with" an Iranian drone detected over its waters as it approached from Iran. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from Tehran, and no reports of any damage.The UAE Defence Ministry later issued a second statement denying reports by Iranian media outlets that Al Menhad Air Base in Dubai had been targeted by Iranian missiles. The incident followed US strikes on Sunday on Iranian rocket launchers on an Iranian island.Iran responded by launching missiles at US sites in Jordan, which were intercepted. Early on Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry said it would "not hesitate to exercise the inherent right of legitimate defence and will respond decisively to any military aggression". Before leaving for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was not seeking war. "But," he said, "we will respond decisively to aggressors." The summit includes Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Pezeshkian was scheduled to meet Putin on the sidelines on Tuesday. At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was due to host meetings of G20 finance ministers in North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday, as Washington pressed other countries to help isolate Iran economically in an effort to secure concessions to end the war.The US had focused in recent weeks on economic pressure, but on Sunday US Central Command said it struck Iranian launchers after seeing forces from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The US military said last week it had finished clearing sea mines from international shipping routes in the waterway. Semiofficial outlets in Iran reported explosions near Larak island on the strait, and the Revolutionary Guard said there had been casualties. US military officials rejected Iran's description of the strikes as aggression, calling them a "limited, precise action" against what they said were minelaying forces. Iranian state television later broadcast what it said were ballistic missiles being fired at American bases in Jordan, and Jordan's military said it intercepted eight missiles that had entered its airspace.A return to open conflict would raise risks across the region, where Iran has targeted US military bases and infrastructure in Gulf countries since the war began on February 28. The last US strike on Iran confirmed by the American military was on July 29, when it announced a "heavy wave of strikes" on dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets, including coastal surveillance and defence sites. On August 1, US President Donald Trump said he would pause new strikes after appeals from Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.The latest drone interception by the UAE has added to tensions after the weekend exchanges between Washington and Tehran, with both sides issuing warnings while regional and international diplomacy continued in parallel.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 31, 2026 13:53 IST