UAE Air Defenses Sound Nationwide Alert After Two Iranian Ballistic Missiles Fired Toward Emirati Waters

The UAE Ministry of Defence said its air defense systems detected and responded to two Iranian ballistic missiles on the evening of Aug 18 — the first such alert since mid-July. A phone alert was sent to residents, mostly in Dubai and Sharjah, at 18:52 local time, with an all-clear issued roughly ten minutes later. One projectile landed in Emirati territorial waters; the second landed outside UAE territory. No casualties or ground damage were reported. The Ministry said it 'remained on high alert and fully prepared to deal with any threat.' Iran denied launching the missiles, calling the allegation baseless and describing it as a possible false-flag operation.