IDF at ‘high readiness’ as Trump warns Iran not to hit US ships

Iran restarts attacks on UAE as US fights to restore traffic in Strait of Hormuz

UAE says 15 missiles, 4 drones fired, sparking fire at oil facility in first major attack since ceasefire; US says it sunk 6 small Iranian boats as ships come under missile fire

Iran fired over a dozen missiles and several drones at the United Arab Emirates on Monday, renewing attacks on the Gulf state for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold last month.

At the same time, the US military said it fired on Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz, and US President Donald Trump vowed that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it hit US ships in the area.

The Iranian attacks appeared to be in response to Trump’s latest efforts to reopen the strait — a critical waterway for global energy — after he launched a new plan to escort ships and restore traffic in the largely blocked waterway. The US military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday as part of the new initiative.

The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE.

Missile alerts were issued Monday urging residents to find shelter — the first such alerts since the ceasefire began nearly a month ago. Commercial planes bound for the UAE — home to the global travel hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi — turned around midair.

The country condemned what it called “renewed treacherous Iranian aggression” and called for an immediate halt to the attacks.

The extent of the attack on Fujairah was unclear, but it is the terminus of a pipeline the UAE has used to avoid shipping some of its oil through the strait. The emirate on the Gulf of Oman is home to extensive oil storage facilities and is the UAE’s main sea access outside the strait.

According to a source speaking to CNN, Israel’s Iron Dome missile system shot down one of the missiles fired at the Gulf state on Monday.

Israel deployed an Iron Dome battery along with troops who know how to operate the missile defense system to the United Arab Emirates to help Abu Dhabi fend off attacks from Iran during the war, an Israeli official and an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel, confirming a report in the Axios news site.

The officials deny a separate report claiming that Israel also deployed its Iron Beam laser-based air defense system to Abu Dhabi, explaining that the technology is too sensitive for use abroad.

Amid Monday’s escalation in the Gulf, an Israeli military official said the IDF is “monitoring the situation and is on alert and at high readiness.”

“Our air defense systems and offensive capabilities are at a high level of readiness, which has not changed since the ceasefire [took effect],” the official said.

The official clarified there are no changes in the Home Front Command’s guidelines for civilians as of yet, and “any change in the guidelines will be updated accordingly.”

US says it sank 6 Iranian boats as Trump ups threats

Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz days after last month’s ceasefire was reached with the US, but went on to resume its disruption of the channel in response to the US decision to maintain a blockade of the Islamic Republic’s ports.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy. The US-led Joint Maritime Information Center had advised ships on Monday to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the US military’s protection.

US military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.

“The US commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping — as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.

Meanwhile, Trump warned that if Iran attacks any US ships around the Strait of Hormuz, they will be “blown off the face of the earth.”

The American leader made the threat while speaking with Fox News, while also conceding that the Iranians are showing flexibility in talks and are “much more malleable” in the face of the US blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also acknowledged progress in talks with the US mediated by Pakistan, but wrote on X that Monday’s events in the Strait of Hormuz show that there is no military solution to the crisis. He also warned the United States and the United Arab Emirates against being drawn into a “quagmire by ill-wishers.”

In his own social media post, Trump said that Iran “has taken some shots at unrelated Nations,” including a South Korean cargo ship, but no damage has been caused to any other ships.

The South Korean government said an explosion and fire had broken out aboard a South Korean-operated ship anchored in the strait off the UAE. No injuries were reported. It was not immediately known if the vessel was one of the burning ships reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

“Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!” Trump said.

Picking up another cold call from a journalist, Trump was asked by ABC News whether he’d brand the Iranian strikes on the UAE as a violation of the truce struck last month with Iran.

Trump stopped short of doing so and appeared to downplay the Iranian salvos.

“[It was] not heavy firing,” Trump said. “They were shot down for the most part.”

Trump told ABC that “Iran “better hope [the ceasefire] remains in effect. The best thing that can happen to them is that we keep it in effect.”

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine will hold a new conference on Tuesday, he added.

Trump had warned Sunday that Iranian efforts to halt passage through the strait “will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

He described “Project Freedom” in humanitarian terms, designed to aid stranded seafarers on hundreds of ships that have been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency called the effort part of Trump’s “delirium.”

Iran’s military command has warned that ships passing through the strait must coordinate with them.

“We warn that any foreign military force — especially the aggressive U.S. military — that intends to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted,” Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi told state broadcaster IRIB.

US, Gulf states to draft UN resolution condemning Iran for Hormuz blockade

Also on Monday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz announced that the US and Gulf Arab nations are drafting a UN Security Council resolution designed to condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Waltz said negotiations will take place this week on the resolution, which comes after permanent Security Council members Russia and China blocked a resolution last month that Washington hoped would galvanize international efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the waterway, a key pathway for the flow of oil and gas.

The shutdown of the strait has caused oil and gas prices to balloon globally, with Brent oil prices shooting up more than five percent after the UAE announced it had been attacked.

Near 3:35 p.m. GMT (6:35 p.m. Israel time), Brent oil futures jumped 5.2 percent to $113.78 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate rose 3.1% to $105.11 a barrel.

As the effects are felt around the globe, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Tuesday that the world should prepare for the energy price and supply crisis stemming from the Iran war to potentially last longer.

Speaking to broadcaster TVNET, Bayraktar added that Turkey does not have any supply issues at the moment, but that certain developments regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of the UAE from the OPEC cartel last month added to the uncertainties.