Fujairah oil zone hit by drone attack as UAE says it intercepted Iranian missiles

A fire erupted in an oil industry area in the UAE as a result of a drone strike launched by Iran on Monday, according to authorities, while UAE troops shot down three Iranian missiles near the country's waters, with the fourth one crashing into the water.

Teams of civil defense quickly arrived to handle the fire caused by the explosion of the drone in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, as mentioned in a statement by the Fujairah Media Office. Three Indians sustained injuries in this incident and were rushed to the hospitals.

"The UAE Armed Forces were able to intercept three missiles, with another missile falling into the sea," according to the X statement by the Ministry of Defense of UAE. "An Iranian map was released on Monday, which indicated the expansion of the areas under Iranian control near the Strait of Hormuz including Fujairah and Khorfakkan ports in the UAE, along with the coastline of Umm Al Quwain emirate," Iranian news agencies added.

During the time of the peak hostilities, the UAE claimed that it had shot down and destroyed thousands of drones and missiles.

On Monday, the government of UAE issued mobile alerts for people living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, informing them about the probability of missile strikes.

The Monday strike was not the first time that the energy facilities in Fujairah had come into focus. The Port of Fujairah had been attacked by drones on March 14, causing fires and leading to the suspension of some loading procedures for oil cargoes.

Fujairah has played an important role in helping UAE sell its oil abroad amid the war with Iran because the region acts as a terminus of the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, which transfers crude from landlocked areas to the Gulf of Oman without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Therefore, the UAE had continued exporting oil even amid the threat to the water passage.