DUBAI\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The United Arab Emirates said that it intercepted an Iranian drone over its waters Monday, an attack that comes after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend for the first time in a month.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials said two people were killed and several others wounded in the U.S. attack Sunday night on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, which were intercepted.<\/p>\n
During the lull in fighting, the U.S. has been ratcheting up economic pressure on Iran with the hope of forcing concessions out of Tehran, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. <\/p>\n
After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran established a chokehold on the vital strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil passed in peacetime, slowing ship traffic to a trickle. That has roiled the global economy, raising prices worldwide for energy and other goods.<\/p>\n
As the fighting resumed, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed above $90, up about 25% from the start of the war, presenting a growing problem for President Trump before the midterm elections.<\/p>\n
A return to open conflict would be dangerous for the region, where Iran has targeted U.S. military bases and infrastructure in Gulf countries since the war began.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the renewed violence, Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE\u2019s president, said on social media that \u201cthe state of neither war nor peace cannot be a sustainable solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called for a political solution that would return normal navigation to the Strait of Hormuz, but also a \u201cmore realistic approach\u201d than the June memo of understanding between Iran and the U.S. which, he said, \u201cfailed to outline a practical and acceptable\u201d road map.<\/p>\n
UAE says Iranian attack is a \u2018dangerous escalation\u2019<\/p>\n
In a short statement earlier, the UAE Defense Ministry said it \u201cdealt with\u201d an Iranian drone that was detected over its waters approaching from Iran. There were no reports of damage. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis dangerous escalation constitutes a blatant violation of the UAE\u2019s sovereignty, security, and stability, and a direct threat to the safety of its citizens and residents,\u201d the Foreign Ministry said. <\/p>\n
The Defense Ministry later issued a second statement denying a claim by the Iranian army that the Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai had been targeted, saying it was false. <\/p>\n
In the wake of the U.S. attack on Sunday, Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Iran would \u201cnot hesitate to exercise the inherent right of legitimate defense and will respond decisively to any military aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran says it has right to defend itself and will \u2018respond decisively\u2019<\/p>\n
Before heading to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization\u2019s summit in Kyrgyzstan with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has favored a negotiated end to the conflict, stressed that Iran wasn\u2019t seeking war. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d he said, \u201cwe will respond decisively to aggressors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The summit brings together a group billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence, and includes Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pezeshkian was scheduled to meet with Putin on the sidelines Tuesday. <\/p>\n
U.S. weekend attack comes after weeks of rising economic pressure<\/p>\n
Meantime, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent opened meetings of the Group of 20 finance ministers in North Carolina on Monday. The meetings are happening as Washington pressures other countries to help the U.S. economically isolate Iran. <\/p>\n