ABU DHABI, 19 August, 2026 (Ghufran) — The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade activities, exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice, the UAE Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, citing a regional escalation that it said was undermining regional and international peace and security.The announcement came a day after the UAE Defence Ministry said it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, marking the first such reported incident since a May 4 strike on Fujairah port. In a subsequent statement, the UAE Defence Ministry said its assessment indicated that the missiles had targeted maritime traffic. Both missiles fell into the sea, according to the ministry.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the UAE’s statement on Wednesday, describing the allegations as “baseless.”Baghaei called on all regional parties to refrain from making what he termed “unsubstantiated accusations” against Iran. He also said any assessment of the situation should take into account what he described as continued “malicious actions” by the United States and Israel against regional peace and security.

The latest missile incident comes after a 60-day period for US-Iran peace talks expired on Monday without a breakthrough, raising concerns about further escalation in a conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz since February. The UAE Defence Ministry said it remained fully prepared to respond to any threats and would firmly confront any action aimed at destabilising the country’s security.The UAE Interior Ministry had earlier sent a phone alert to residents, saying the situation was safe and urging people to resume normal activities following an earlier warning of a missile threat. The UAE has recently accused Iran of attacking vessels operated by its state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not claimed responsibility for the alleged attacks on ADNOC vessels. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has previously threatened action against vessels passing through the strategic waterway if they are linked to Tehran’s adversaries or fail to comply with Iranian directives.