Iran war live: UAE says intercepted missiles, drone sparks fire at oil site

The US and Gulf Arab nations ⁠are drafting ⁠a UN Security Council resolution that will condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of ⁠Hormuz in response to US-Israeli attacks, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz says.

Waltz said negotiations will take place this week on the resolution. This comes after permanent Security Council members Russia and China blocked a resolution last ‌month that Washington hoped would push for international efforts to restore freedom of navigation in the waterway.

⁠The resolution is expected to require Iran to cease attacks on ships and attempts to impose tolls on shipping in ⁠the strait. It will also urge Iran to stop placing sea mines ⁠and disclose the locations of ⁠mines.

Waltz said the draft resolution is “much more focused on mining international waterways and on tolling, which all of the economies ‌of ‌the world are affected by, particularly those in Asia.”

“The US should leave the [Gulf] region, and let the Gulf countries deal with Iran on their own,” General Mark Kimmitt, Former US Assistant Secretary of State, has told Al Jazeera.

“It is my tax dollars. Money comes out of my pocket as an American to help provide defence of your region,” Kimmitt said.

“We can save a lot of money if we just say ‘okay, we’ll leave. You’re on your own now’.”

“We can certainly protect Israel in Israel and we can let the Gulf states take care of themselves.”

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry says the country’s top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, has spoken with his Emirati counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and condemned “the renewed Iranian attacks on the UAE”.

Safadi reiterated Jordan’s “absolute solidarity” with the UAE “in confronting these attacks”, said the ministry. It said Safadi called the attacks “a dangerous escalation and a threat to the UAE’s security, stability, territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens and residents, as well as a blatant violation of international law and the UN charter”.

Trump told Fox News that Iran will be “blown off the face of the Earth” if they attack US vessels carrying out “Project Freedom” in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US President said he believes Iran has become “much more malleable” in peace negotiations and emphasized that US military build-up in the region is continuing.

“We have more weapons and ammunition at a much higher grade than we had before,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst. “We have the best equipment. We have stuff all over the world. We have these bases all over the world. They’re all stocked up with equipment. We can use all of that stuff, and we will, if we need it.”

Trump has accused Iran of having “taken some shots at unrelated nations” in the Strait of Hormuz, including a South Korean cargo ship.

“Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!”, Trump wrote on social media.

He went on to claim the US had “shot down” seven small Iranian boats, after CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper said US forces had sunk six.

“Other than the South Korean ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” Trump added.

Latest reports of Iranian missiles and drones fired towards the UAE suggest Iranian retaliation to the conditions the US is trying to “impose in the region”, including its blockade of Iranian ports, says Sultan Barakat, professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar.

“I think what’s going on is that Iran is refusing to submit to the new normal that the US is trying to impose in the region,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.

“I think they need to keep continuously maneuvering and shaking the situation a little bit so that it does not set into place.”

There is particular tension between Iran and the UAE, he added, because the UAE has been less receptive to the broader Gulf position of not retaliating to Iran during the war.

“I think the Iranians are quite aware of that potential hostile position the UAE may take and of course they understand their [the UAE’s] very close relationship with the US… and the coordination that is ongoing related to the blockade.”

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), says that US forces have sunk six Iranian boats that had attempted to interfere with commercial shipping, and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones amid its “Project Freedom” operation to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Cooper said he “strongly advised” Iranian forces to remain clear of US military assets during the operation and reiterated that the US is continuing its blockade of Iranian ports, which was “exceeding expectations”.

The commander added that the IRGC had launched missiles and drones at commercial ships and that the US had provided protection for them.

“Project Freedom is a defensive operation, and we have deployed anti-ballistic missile destroyers. Ships in the Gulf waters belong to 87 countries, and we urge ships to cross the Strait,” he said, adding that they will continue to counter Iranian attacks.

Sultan Barakat, a professor at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says the UAE is likely to push for some form of Gulf retaliation against Iran following the latest missile and drone incidents.

“But I believe the Gulf states, by and large, will remain reluctant to engage,” Barakat told Al Jazeera.

“They absolutely understand that this is not their conflict; it’s being imposed on them. And they’ve already paid a very high price economically.”

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement condemning the “treacherous” Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The ministry said it reserves its “full and legitimate right” to respond to the attacks, which it described as a serious escalation that pose a direct threat to the country’s security.

الإمارات تُدين بشدة تجدد العدوان الإيراني الغادر باستخدام الصواريخ والطائرات المسيّرة pic.twitter.com/1fAwX6GFuK

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) May 4, 2026

Natasha Turak, a journalist in Dubai, says the Iranian attack on Fujairah was a “continuation of Tehran’s playbook of attacking energy facilities in the Gulf” after it was attacked by the US or Israel.

“Earlier today, we know that Trump launched what he has called ‘Project Freedom’, which is using naval guided missile destroyers to guide trapped tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran considers this a violation of the ceasefire,” Turak told Al Jazeera.

“Iran is clearly reacting to this by attacking ships in the Strait and now by attacking energy facilities in the UAE.

“This is very significant for the Gulf because it’s just a continuation of the ongoing crisis that is engulfing energy facilities, putting pressure on the abilities of these countries to export energy and oil and gas from the Gulf,” she said, adding that Fujairah was part of the UAE’s key energy export infrastructure.

Flights bound for Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE are currently on hold or being diverted due to the latest Iranian drone and missile attacks , reports Flightradar24.

Flights bound for Dubai and Sharjah currently holding. Local reports of air defense activations ongoing. https://t.co/Xv8JfcamE6 pic.twitter.com/MBuKHhgY5U

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) May 4, 2026

Lebanese lawmaker Ali Ammar, representing Hezbollah, has urged Lebanese authorities to declare the US ambassador “persona non grata” after the envoy suggested that those who offended a senior Christian religious leader should leave the country.

The controversy erupted on Saturday after a video published by Lebanese television channel LBCI caricatured Hezbollah leaders and fighters as characters from the “Angry Birds” game.

Hezbollah supporters condemned the video and some reacted by sharing images insulting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, which sparked support for the head of Lebanon’s most influential Christian sect.

After meeting Rai on Monday, US ambassador Michel Issa said: “This is inappropriate in Lebanon… a country known for coexistence. I think the people who did this, Lebanon may be unsuitable for them, so let them look for another country to live in.”

Hezbollah issued a statement from Ammar condemning “the blatant interference of the US ambassador in Beirut in Lebanese affairs and his call to push Lebanese out of their country”.

“The simplest measure that could be taken is to declare him persona non grata,” Ammar added.

Three Indian nationals have been injured in the drone attack on Fujairah’s petroleum industrial site being blamed on Iran, the Fujairah Media Office says.

The three have been taken to the hospital and their injuries have been termed “moderate”.