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UAE countering Iranian air attack after Trump says ceasefire still in effect
Trump told reporters the truce was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange
- PUBLISHED: Fri 8 May 2026, 7:24 AM UPDATED: Fri 8 May 2026, 8:05 AM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
US ally the United Arab Emirates said its air defences were engaging missile and drone threats from Iran early on Friday in a further test of the shaky, month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran.
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There were few details immediately available about the latest attack on the UAE, which came a day after the US and Iran exchanged fire around the Strait of Hormuz, and as Washington awaited a response from Tehran to its proposal to end the conflict. Iran has often targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases since the war began on February 28.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday three US Navy destroyers were attacked as they moved through the strait, a conduit for around a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows that Iran has all but closedsince the conflict started.
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"Three World Class American Destroyers just transited, very successfully, out of the Strait of Hormuz, under fire. There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump later told reporters the ceasefire was still in effect and sought to play down the exchange.
"They trifled with us today. We blew them away," Trump said in Washington.
Iran's top joint military command accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire by targeting an Iranian oil tanker and another ship, and of carrying out air attacks on civilian areas on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby coastal areas of Bandar Khamir and Sirik on the mainland. The military said it responded by attacking U.S. military vessels east of the strait and south of the port of Chabahar.
A spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the Iranian strikes inflicted "significant damage," but US Central Command said none of its assets were hit.
Centcom said Iran had used missiles, drones and small boats in the attack, which targeted three Navy destroyers. The US said it targeted missile and drone sites and other locations in response.
"CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces," it said in a statement.
Iran also said it would respond if attacked.
"(The) US and its allies must know that Iran will respond forcefully and without the slightest hesitation to any act of aggression or attack," the military spokesperson said, according to state television.
Iran's Press TV later reported that, following several hours of fire, "the situation on Iranian islands and coastal cities by the Strait of Hormuz is back to normal now."
The two sides have occasionally exchanged gunfire since the ceasefire took effect on April 7.
On Monday, the US military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as Tehran sought to thwart a US naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
In the UAE, air defences engaged drone and missile threats from Iran early on Friday, according to the Ministry of Defence. Sounds that may be heard across the coutry are the result of ongoing interceptions, it further clarified.
Trump urges negotiated end to war
Trump suggested ongoing talks with Tehran remained on track despite Thursday's hostilities, telling reporters, "We're negotiating with the Iranians." Before the latest strikes, the US had floated a proposal that would formally end the conflict but did not address key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear work and reopen the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world's oil and gas supply. Tehran said it had not yet reached a conclusion on the emerging plan.
Even so, Trump said Iran had acknowledged his demand that Iran could never get a nuclear weapon, a prohibition he said was spelled out in the US proposal.
"There's zero chance. And they know that, and they've agreed to that. Let's see if they are willing to sign it," Trump said.
Asked when any deal might be reached, Trump said, "It might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want to deal more than I do."
The war has tested Trump's relationship with his US base of supporters, after he had campaigned against involving the United States in foreign wars and promised to bring down fuel prices.
US crude futures rose as much as 3% in early trading in Asia on Friday after the renewed hostilities broke out.
US gasoline prices have climbed more than 40% since late February, rising by about $1.20 a gallon to more than $4, according to data from the American Automobile Association, as disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil prices higher.
Markets have swung sharply during the course of the war as hopes for a peace deal repeatedly rose and faded.