Iran Targets Ukrainian Anti-Drone Depot in UAE

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - AFP reported on Saturday that Iran’s military said it had targeted and destroyed a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in the United Arab Emirates that was used to support U.S. forces, officials said. The statement, issued by Iran’s central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, and carried on state television, said the depot was located in Dubai and described it as part of the “hideouts of American commanders and soldiers” in the city.

The military statement indicated that the depot, which housed Ukrainian anti-drone systems, had been specifically aimed at assisting U.S. military operations. “A Ukrainian anti-drone system depot that was located in Dubai to assist the US military ... was targeted and destroyed,” the statement said. Iranian officials provided no additional details regarding casualties or the extent of the damage.

Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an unannounced visit to the UAE, where he and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to cooperate on defence matters. Zelensky said the two countries’ teams would finalize the details of their security and defence cooperation. “For all normal states, it is important to ensure stability and protect lives amid today’s threats. Ukraine has relevant expertise in this area,” Zelensky said on social media.

The defence agreement follows Kyiv’s efforts to share its experience in countering drone attacks, a capability honed during the ongoing conflict with Russia. Ukrainian officials have been deploying anti-drone experts and systems to Gulf countries, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, amid heightened tensions in the region due to Iranian drone strikes targeting U.S. and allied assets. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine’s interceptors are among the most advanced in the world and noted that Gulf nations could benefit from their deployment to strengthen regional air-defence systems.

Iran’s statement on the strike in Dubai came amid an intensification of the Middle East war, with multiple regional developments reported on Saturday. Iranian media said that U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit residential areas in Iran, reportedly killing more than a dozen people overnight, though these figures could not be independently verified. Israel’s military confirmed it had targeted Iranian regime sites, and journalists in Tehran reported hearing multiple blasts and seeing plumes of smoke.

Iran also targeted a U.S. logistics vessel near Salalah, Oman, the military said. “A logistics vessel supporting the aggressive US army was targeted by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran at a considerable distance from the port of Salalah in Oman,” Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran’s central military command, said in a statement carried by state TV. In a separate incident at the same port, a drone attack wounded a foreign worker and caused limited damage to a crane, Oman’s official news agency reported.

The UAE reported damage and injuries from the Iranian attack. The country’s defence ministry said fires broke out in an industrial zone following missile and drone strikes from Iran, leaving five people injured. UAE air defences were reported to have intercepted incoming cruise missiles and drones during the incident.

Other regional developments on Saturday included a heavily damaged radar system at Kuwait International Airport due to a drone attack, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claiming a first strike on Israel, and Thailand reaching an agreement with Iran to allow safe passage for Thai oil vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. Meanwhile, Bahrain denied reports of a crackdown on Shia citizens amid the ongoing war, following claims by rights groups of over 200 arrests.

Pakistan will host talks in Islamabad involving foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Egypt to discuss the ongoing Middle East conflict, officials said. Israel also carried out airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, targeting areas where Hezbollah forces are present, Lebanese state media reported.

The UAE strike and the destruction of the Ukrainian anti-drone depot in Dubai mark the latest escalation in a series of regional incidents involving Iranian forces, U.S. assets, and allied partners. These events follow a pattern of drone, missile, and air-defence engagements that have intensified since the outbreak of hostilities in the region.

Iran’s military strike on the UAE depot represents a significant development in the broader conflict, demonstrating Tehran’s ability to target foreign military support infrastructure beyond its borders while Gulf states formalize defence cooperation agreements with Kyiv.