UAE says Iran fired drones at Adnoc oil tanker in Hormuz, no injuries

[Editor's Note: Follow the Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.]

The UAE has strongly condemned an Iranian drone attack on an Adnoc-owned tanker while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz and no injuries were reported. In a statement, the UAE described the incident as a "terrorist attack" and called it a serious violation of international maritime law and a threat to global energy security.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel was targeted by two drones while passing through the narrow waterway and called the incident a “flagrant violation” of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, which upholds freedom of navigation and prohibits attacks on commercial shipping or disruption of international sea routes.

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The ministry further stressed that targeting commercial vessels and using the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of economic coercion or blackmail amounts to an act of piracy by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and constitutes a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and global energy security.

The UAE warned that such actions pose a direct threat not only to regional stability and the safety of its people, but also to global energy markets that depend heavily on uninterrupted maritime trade through the strait.

It called on Iran to immediately halt what it described as "unprovoked attacks" and urged full and unconditional respect for maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The ministry stressed that safeguarding the waterway is essential to ensuring regional security and maintaining stability in the global economy and energy trade.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, on Monday issued a strong warning on the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Strait of Hormuz must never be held hostage or used as a tool of economic coercion and extortion,” Al Jaber said, in his clearest statement yet since regional tensions escalated.

He added that freedom of international navigation “is non-negotiable and cannot be compromised,” warning that any change to the strait’s legal status “would constitute a dangerous and unacceptable precedent and a direct threat to global economic security.”