Aya Batraoui
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Navy and launched missiles at neighbor the United Arab Emirates, threatening a month-long ceasefire.
Defense Secretary Pete Hexa said on Tuesday the operation was, quote, a gift from the U.S.
to the world to secure commercial shipping.
But later that day, Trump declared the operation paused.
He cited, quote, great progress toward a final deal with Iran, but said a blockade on Iranian ports remains in place.
Ending that blockade is a key Iranian demand.
People's phones rang out with missile alerts several times on Monday across the UAE, causing panic of renewed war among worried residents.
The government says three people were wounded in a drone strike on an oil facility in the Emirate of Fujairah.
The UAE also announced that schools would be held online for the remainder of the week due to the threat of more attacks.
The attacks on the UAE came as the United States launched Project Freedom, an armed operation to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
Central Command says the operation helped two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels transit the strait.
And President Trump said seven Iranian speedboats were also shot down.
Iranian news outlets reported that two were civilian ships and that five people were killed aboard.
The UAE has long been dissatisfied with OPEC's production quotas and curbs on output.
But its fallout with Saudi Arabia over the conflict in Yemen and other regional issues appears to have accelerated its exit from the Saudi-led oil cartel.
OPEC, which stands for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, will now have just 11 states as members after the UAE's exit.
The group has lost member states before, including Qatar and Angola in past years.