The UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday amid ongoing regional warfare. The strikes damaged major UAE oil facilities and maritime shipping, leaving one civilian dead from falling shrapnel in Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates faced a massive aerial bombardment on Tuesday, with the UAE Ministry of Defense reporting the interception of 10 ballistic missiles and 45 drones fired from Iran. According to Iran International, an Iranian opposition network based in Europe, the attacks occurred in multiple waves. The barrage prompted emergency alerts in Dubai, where citizens received phone warnings about "possible missile threats" and were instructed to seek immediate shelter before the all-clear was given a half-hour later. The defense ministry noted that UAE air defenses have countered over 2,000 drone and missile attacks since the broader war began.
The strikes proved fatal in Abu Dhabi, where the Abu Dhabi Media Office reported a Pakistani national was killed Tuesday morning by falling shrapnel from an intercepted missile. This fatality brings the UAE's death toll since the onset of the war to eight, which includes two soldiers, Iran International reported.
Energy infrastructure and maritime shipping were heavily targeted in the attacks. DW Persian, the Farsi-language service of the German state broadcaster, reported that a drone struck the "Shah" oil field—one of the world's largest, located 180 kilometers southwest of Abu Dhabi—igniting a fire without causing casualties. Additionally, the critical oil export port of Fujairah was hit by a drone for the second consecutive day. This led to a fire at the export terminal and at least a partial halt to oil loading, according to Iran International.
Maritime incidents also multiplied. The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) stated an anchored oil tanker off the UAE's eastern coast suffered minor damage from interception debris early Tuesday, while DW Persian cited British maritime security reporting a projectile strike on a cargo ship off the coast of Oman.
The Iranian strikes extended well beyond the UAE, reflecting the severe escalation that followed sweeping US and Israeli military operations against Iranian assets on March 16. The Kuwaiti military tracked two ballistic missiles and 13 drones over the past 24 hours, and the Qatari Ministry of Defense reported intercepting a separate missile attack, according to Iran International.
The sources for this event, Iran International (an anti-Islamic Republic network) and DW Persian (a Western state broadcaster), are closely aligned in their reporting of the attacks and their attribution of the barrage to Iran. Both frame the events consistently with official Gulf and Western defense statements.