UAE suspends Iran trade after ballistic missiles detected
· RTE.ieThe United Arab Emirates' defence ministry has said that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, the first such incident reported since a 4 May strike on the Fujairah port.
In a statement, the ministry said the missiles targeted "maritime traffic" based on its assessments.
Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the statement by the UAE, describing it as "baseless".
In a statement issued after the missile threat, the UAE said it had suspended all trade activities, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice, citing an escalation that it said undermined regional and international peace and security.
The missile launch comes as a 60-day window for US-Iranian peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough, raising fears of a new escalation in the conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February.
"The defence ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilise the state's security," it said in a statement.
The UAE's interior ministry sent a phone alert to residents yesterday, stating that the situation was safe and people should resume normal activities after an earlier alert warning of a missile threat.
The UAE had accused Iran recently of attacking its state-owned ADNOC vessels while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has not claimed responsibility for the attacks on ADNOC vessels.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have previously threatened action against vessels transiting the strait if they are linked to Tehran's adversaries or fail to comply with Iranian directives.
Shipping slows through Strait of Hormuz
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed, data showed today, as most ship owners avoided the key waterway because of a lack of clear signalling on its reopening from a blockade during the Iran war.
Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on yesterday, Kpler data showed, down from nine a day earlier and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Inbound traffic included an empty very large crude carrier that followed the Omani side of the strait, as well as two tankers, one of medium-range and the other intermediate, the data showed.
Two medium-range fuel tankers and a post-Panamax vessel exited the strait.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump said no talks were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran's assertion that it remained shut to shipping.
The waterway handled a fifth of the world's shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
As security concerns curb oil shipments to the world's largest importer, two Chinese shipping giants that used to carry half its imports of Middle Eastern oil before the war have kept their tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb since late July, say tanker tracker Vortexa and a ship broker.
At the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea, where Yemeni Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20,Kpler data showed 30 weekend transits by commodity vessels, up from 19 in the prior week.
There were no tracked Saudi oil shipments.
Iran still open to talks
Iran remains open to dialogue with the US but does not confuse negotiations with surrender, Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said yesterday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Mr Mokhber said military pressure and sanctions would not break Iran's resolve and that the country would defend its security, dignity and allies while not seeking war.
Even as Iran projects resilience in the war, its leaders are worried that a threat of more economic punishment could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic's legitimacy, according to three Iranian officials.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, mainly in Iran and Lebanon. Iran has struck US military bases and infrastructure in countries including Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures have surged during the conflict, hitting a peak of $126 a barrel, roughly 75% above pre-war levels. Brent crude futures settled up 20 cent yesterday at just over $91 a barrel.
A US administration official reiterated warnings that Washington could go further on hitting Iran's economy following multiple sanctions.
"There are many levers the president can crank harder in the weeks and months ahead," the official said.