Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country will retaliate against the UAE for hosting US attacks this weekend on military targets on Kharg Island.
The weapons used in the US attack on 13 March were fired from the UAE, Araghchi told state news agency Irna, including from a location very close to Dubai.
"We would certainly retaliate but we try to be careful not to attack any populated area," Araghchi said.
On 14 March, drones damaged two crude storage tanks in the UAE city of Fujairah, but it is not clear if that strike was in retaliation for the Kharg attack. On Sunday the UAE ministry of defense said it intercepted four ballistic missiles and six drones from Iran.
The US hit more than 90 military sites on Kharg, including naval-mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers, according to the US Central Command, which operates US forces in the Middle East. The US attack deliberately avoided energy-related assets on Kharg, which is Iran's primary crude export hub, but President Donald Trump threatened to attack oil infrastructure if Iran did not stop threatening to attack vessels crossing the strait of Hormuz. About 17mn b/d of crude and products normally transit through the strait.
Araghchi said the strait is only closed to tankers and other vessels belonging to Iran's enemies and their allies. "Others are free to pass," he said.
