UAE Accuses Iran of Attacking Two ADNOC Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates —

The United Arab Emirates on Friday condemned Iran for attacking two vessels linked to its national oil company as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a run of strikes on Gulf shipping tied to the war between Iran and Israel and the United States.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, said in a statement carried by Emirati media that "two of its vessels were attacked while transiting" the strait on Thursday evening and that the situation was "brought under control." No injuries were reported, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry called the strike a "hostile Iranian attack" in a statement issued in the early hours of Friday. "The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned and denounced the hostile Iranian attack that targeted two vessels affiliated with ADNOC as they transited the Strait of Hormuz," the ministry said, according to Al Jazeera. The ministry went further, accusing Iran of using the strait as a tool of "economic coercion" that amounts to "piracy" and poses "a direct threat to the stability of the region, its peoples, and the global energy supply."

Iran did not immediately respond to the attack or to the UAE's accusations, Al Jazeera reported.

A Pattern of Strikes

The attack came just days after the UAE reported a similar strike on an ADNOC tanker last Saturday, which it blamed on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That earlier attack also caused no injuries but drew condemnation from several Arab governments, according to Al Jazeera. ADNOC says a total of 15 of its vessels have now been attacked while transiting the strait since the war between Iran, Israel and the United States began on February 28.

A Fight Over Who Controls Hormuz

The attacks are unfolding against a broader standoff over the strait itself. Iran has maintained what amounts to a blockade of the waterway since the war began, requiring ships to seek its permission and pay transit fees, a demand the United States firmly opposes. Washington has responded with its own blockade of Iranian shipping. Iran is separately negotiating with Oman over a new arrangement for managing the strait, though Tehran has said any deal reached with Oman would not by itself reopen the waterway to the United States.

The dispute sharpened this week after President Trump wrote on social media that the United States has "total control" over Hormuz and said, "I think we will keep it." Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's central military command, dismissed the claim as "lies and fabrications," saying in a statement carried by Iranian state television that no vessel can pass through the strait "without the permission and supervision" of Iran's armed forces, according to France 24.