By Jill McLaughlin

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) halted all trade with Iran after officials determined two missiles detected earlier on Aug. 18 were launched from the country.

The missiles targeted the UAE’s commercial shipping channels and fell into the sea, according to the ministry of defense.

In response to the missiles, UAE Director of Strategic Communications Afar Al Hameli announced an indefinite halt to all trade, commercial exchange, and financial transactions with Iran.

“Al Hameli emphasized that the UAE remains firmly committed to safeguarding the integrity of the international financial system, in line with international law and the highest global standards,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The missiles were detected by the UAE at around 6:52 p.m. Tuesday local time.

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense said on X that it stands ready to respond to any “attempts to undermine the security of the country or the safety of maritime navigation.”

The first missile fell outside UAE’s territorial waters and the second fell within the territorial waters, the Defense Ministry said.

The missile attack from Iran was the first to target the UAE in weeks, following a reduction in Iranian attacks after the United States and Iran reached a tentative ceasefire agreement on June 17.

The UAE suffered the brunt of Iran’s retaliation for the U.S.-Israel military operation that started Feb. 28, when Tehran attacked Gulf states allied with the United States and U.S. military facilities in the region. In the first 10 days of the conflict, Iran directed over 250 ballistic missiles and 1,440 drones at the UAE—more than double the attacks on any other Gulf country.

Spokesman for the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence, Maj. Gen. Abdul Nasser Al-Humaidi, speaks during a press briefing held by the UAE government following Iranian strikes in Abu Dhabi on March 3, 2026. Ryan Lim/AFP

At a press conference early Aug. 19, Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the UAE’s claim that the two ballistic missiles were launched by Iran, calling the accusations “baseless,” Omani media reported.

The incident comes three days after the UAE accused the Iranian regime of attacking an Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. vessel as it attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the Aug. 15 attack threatened national stability as well as global energy security.

Peace talks between the United States and Iran also stalled Aug. 18. U.S. President Donald Trump said no negotiations were happening or being scheduled. He said the Strait of Hormuz remained “open and operating,” after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf issued a list of demands he said the United States would need to meet in order to see the strait reopen.

Trump also posted a map outlining the Strait of Hormuz as a “new U.S. territory.”

Iran’s top security official Mohsen Rezaei responded by posting his own map, claiming there’s a gap between what the United States claims and what it can do.