UAE Secretly Struck Iran During the War, Targeting Persian Gulf Refinery

by | May 12, 2026 | News

flying rocket during daytime

The United Arab Emirates conducted covert military strikes against Iran during the recent US-Israel war on the Islamic Republic, making it the only additional country to join the military campaign, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The strikes included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, carried out in early April around the time President Trump announced a ceasefire. The UAE has not publicly acknowledged the operation, and its foreign ministry declined to comment while pointing to prior statements asserting its right to respond to Iranian aggression.

Iran acknowledged at the time that the Lavan Island site had been struck by an unspecified enemy. Tehran subsequently responded by firing missiles and drones at both the UAE and Kuwait.

Washington reportedly welcomed the UAE’s participation after other Gulf states declined to join the conflict actively. The Pentagon declined to comment on the report.

During the broader war, Iran subjected the UAE to intense bombardment, firing roughly 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones — making it the most-targeted country in the region, including Israel. Most projectiles were intercepted, but some struck military and civilian targets.

The report adds a new dimension to an episode that generated controversy in March, when Israeli media outlets reported that the UAE had struck an Iranian desalination plant. Emirati officials publicly and angrily denied those reports at the time; the Journal’s account does not address that specific claim.

The ceasefire Trump declared in April left the war’s stated goals unmet — including preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, destroying its missile program, and creating conditions for regime change. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remains in effect, and Emirati officials reported that likely Iranian drone attacks resumed in UAE territory last week.

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