UAE air defences detect missile threat; residents told situation is safe

In the United Arab Emirates on August 18, 2026, air defences detected a missile threat and the UAE issued a brief nationwide emergency alert. The UAE said Iran launched two ballistic missiles at it, and both fell into the sea, one of them in UAE territorial waters. Iran denied the attack.

Residents were told the situation is safe and the UAE gave an all-clear. Khaleej Times described it as the first Iranian missile threat detected since July 12, and Asahi Shimbun called it possibly the first since the US-Iran memorandum.