Threat alert sounds in UAE as Iran missiles land near a military base

United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday came under fear, following Iranian military exercise, which was mistaken for an attack on the country.

There was an alert signal which sounded at the UAE’s Al Dhafra airbase when Iranian misiles landed close to it. The base is Located about an hour from the country’s capital city of Abu Dhabi and it houses troops of US, French and aircraft.

Incidentally, the first batch of India’s five Rafale fighter aircraft due to arrive in Haryana’s Ambala on Wednesday landed at the Al Dhafra base on Tuesday night as part of an overnight halt. The aircraft, three single-seater and two double-seater began their journey from the Merignac airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will be inducted into the Indian Air Force’s No 17 Squadron, also known as the ‘Golden Arrows’.

CNN’s Barbara Starr reported that the Al Dhafra base in UAE and Al Udeid airbase in Qatar went on alert after intel indicators hinted at an incoming “Iranian missile possibly headed that way”. Starr claimed that personnel were told to take cover but no missile struck either of the bases.

Adding to that, Lucas Tomlinson of US’ Fox News also reported the incident. In a tweet, Tomlinson quoted an official who said that two bases in Middle East housing US troops and aircraft were put on high alert when “3 Iranian missiles splashed down in waters near the bases Tues. (Tuesday) as part of Iran’s military exercises.”

A BBC correspondent, Nafiseh Kohnavard reported that the US Navy has slammed Iran’s “manoeuvre in the Persian Gulf” calling it “irresponsible and reckless”. She further mentioned that troops in Al Dhafra base in the UAE were asked to stay in bunkers as a result of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) drill and missile tests.

On Tuesday Sepahnews released a picture of an Iran Revolutionary Guard’s speedboat firing a missile during a military exercise on July 28. The news medium also released pictures of Iranian commandos fast-roping down from a helicopter onto a replica of an aircraft carrier called “Great Prophet 14” during the exercise. The drill has come to light at a time when tensions between Washington and Tehran are visibly strained.