UAE suspends trade with Iran after ballistic missiles detected

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. Photo (August 5): Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP

The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said on Tuesday ​that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, ‌the first such incident reported since a May 4 strike on the Fujairah port.

In a statement later, 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 early on Wednesday 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 defense ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilize the state's security," it said in a statement.

The UAE's interior ministry sent a phone alert ​earlier on Tuesday ​to residents 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.