'Fake News': UAE Official Denies Report of First Retaliatory Attack on Iran Desalination Plant

New Delhi: The United Arab Emirates has officially dismissed claims that it carried out a retaliatory strike against an Iranian desalination plant on Sunday.

Despite persistent reports suggesting a shift in strategy, Abu Dhabi maintains that it has not launched offensive operations, even as it continues to weigh its response to the repeated waves of drone and missile attacks originating from Iran.

‘Fake news’

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the UAE Federal National Council’s Defense, Interior, and Foreign Affairs Committee, has officially dismissed reports of a retaliatory strike against Iran, labeling them as "fake news."

As a high-ranking official, Al Nuaimi’s statement serves as a formal rejection of claims that the Emirates initiated military action in response to recent hostilities.

Taking to X, he stated, “This is fake news. When we do something, we’ve the courage to announce it."

He went on to add, "The UAE will never place the Iranian people in the same basket as the Iranian regime. The Iranian people are the real victims of that regime and the ones who suffer the most from its policies. As neighbours, we recognize this reality and we care about their wellbeing."

The clarification comes in after The United Arab Emirates was initially said to have struck an Iranian desalination facility on Sunday, in what would have been its first retaliatory attack against Iranian drone and missile fire as part of Israel and the US's war on the Islamic regime.

However, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday slammed the US for attacks on a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island, stating it's a "blatant and desperate crime" with grave consequences. 

In a post on X, Araghchi emphasised that the US has set a dangerous precedent by targeting Iran's infrastructure. 

"The U.S. committed a blatant and desperate crime by attacking a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island. Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. Attacking Iran's infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran," Araghchi posted on X.

Abu Dhabi contemplated

Meanwhile, as per reports, a source familiar with the matter told the Jerusalem Post that Abu Dhabi has reportedly been weighing a military response since it and several other Gulf nations came under fire following the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began February 28. 

These regional tensions were underscored last week in the Fujairah oil industry zone, where UAE air defences intercepted a drone, causing falling debris that ignited a fire which authorities were forced to extinguish.

Furthermore, later on Sunday, the UAE Defense Ministry also announced that the death toll from Iran's attacks had risen to four.

In addition to the UAE, the governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain reported being targeted by Iranian drone strikes on Saturday and early Sunday. 

The most severe damage occurred in Kuwait City, where a massive fire devastated a government office building, the headquarters of the Public Institution for Social Security, following a direct hit during the overnight wave of attacks.

Escalated tensions in West Asia

The development comes amid escalated tensions in West Asia, following the death of the 86-year-old Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28. 

The strikes also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic. Following this, Tehran, in retaliation, launched counter-strikes targeting American military bases and Israeli assets across the region, including multiple Arab countries. 

Israel, along with the US, continued its strikes on Tehran, with Tel Aviv widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militant groups.

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