UAE shuts airspace following Iranian missile, drone strikes

A policeman inspects the wreckage of a drone in downtown Dubai on Thursday. PIC/AFP

The General Civil Aviation Authority has announced the temporary and full closure of the United Arab Emirates airspace, Al Jazeera reported.

As per Al Jazeera, State media said the move was "an exceptional precautionary measure" aimed at ensuring the safety of flights and air crews, as well as safeguarding the UAE's territory.

Earlier, the UAE's Ministry of Defence stated that it was responding to a new wave of missile and drone attacks launched by Iran, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems are actively responding to incoming missiles and drones launched from Iran, as per Al Jazeera.

Separately, authorities in Dubai stated that the sounds heard across parts of the city were due to successful interception operations carried out by air defence systems, according to the Dubai Media Office's X post.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi authorities have suspended operations at the massive Shah gas field while they assess damage from a drone attack, which ignited a fire, the Abu Dhabi media office said in a post to social media Tuesday, CNN reported.

As per CNN, the Shah gas field, about 180 kilometres (112 miles) southwest of Abu Dhabi city, is one of the largest in the world, with the capacity to produce 1.28 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to its operator, the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

The fire has since been contained, and no injuries have been reported, the media office said, as reported by CNN.

The United Arab Emirates' energy and transport infrastructure have been repeatedly targeted by Iran throughout the war, CNN reported.

On Monday, an "advanced fire" broke out at the UAE's Fujairah petroleum industrial zone after it was targeted by a drone attack, according to the Fujairah Media Office, CNN reported.

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