The Abu Dhabi skyline is pictured last month. People in the UAE's capital heard a series of missile-strike warnings followed by loud thumps on Wednesday about an hour after the ceasefire was announced, as an oil-processing facility was struck.RYAN LIM/AFP/Getty Images
A military atrocity may have just been avoided, but Wednesday was not a day of relief for the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. Rather, the first day of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was one marked by waves of devastating attacks and a growing sense of abandonment and betrayal.
Less than an hour after the predawn announcement that Pakistan’s military had brokered a deal without any Arab involvement, a new wave of Iranian drones and ballistic missiles slammed into oil and gas facilities and telecommunications offices in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. A few hours later, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar were hit, with the attacks continuing throughout the day and escalating into one of the most violent barrages since the war began on Feb. 28.
The strikes appeared intended to disable large parts of the petroleum processing and export capacity of the Gulf states – especially those components that might allow oil to be exported without having to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran insists it will reopen only if it can charge each ship a US$2-million toll.
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The most prominent target was Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, designed to carry crude oil from its oil fields to the Red Sea. Infrared satellite images obtained by the Financial Times showed a large-scale fire in the city of Abqaiq, at a pumping and processing facility near the eastern end of the pipeline. Reports from the area said it had been hit by at least one Iranian drone.
Also hit hard were facilities affiliated with the Kuwait Petroleum Corp. and other Kuwaiti installations crucial to the country’s survival, including three primary electrical generation sites and critical water distillation and desalination plants.
Colonel Saud Al-Atwan, Kuwait’s military spokesman, called the strikes a “clear determination to persist in targeting the country’s security and vital capabilities.”
The UAE was also hit hard. People in Abu Dhabi, the capital, heard a series of missile-strike warnings followed by loud thumps about an hour after the ceasefire was announced, as an oil-processing facility near the city was struck.
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An even larger wave of attacks took place in the afternoon, and by the end of the day, according to the UAE Ministry of Defence, 17 ballistic missiles and 35 drones had struck the country. An Egyptian citizen was killed, and several Emirati, Indian and Pakistani workers were injured.
The most significant target in the UAE was the Habshan complex, one of the country’s largest gas-processing facilities. It was evacuated and its operations shut down after a major fire erupted. The Ministry of Defence said the damage was caused by debris from interceptor missiles.
A telecommunications facility owned by the Thuraya Mobile Satellite Communications Co. in the Emirate of Sharjah − one of the seven emirates that comprise the UAE − was also hit, although the company said its operations were not affected.
Some analysts in the region called the post-treaty assault an Iranian “escalate to de-escalate” tactic – an expression popular with the Trump administration, suggesting that extreme violence can be used as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations, in this case the U.S.-Iranian talks set to take place in Islamabad on Friday.
But combined with Iran’s insistence in its ceasefire terms that it control and charge large fees for ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz, the attacks led to a decidedly skeptical reaction from Gulf leaders. Perhaps the most enthusiastic response came from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called the day “an initial step toward de-escalation.”
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The Sultanate of Oman was quick to respond to Iran’s claim that it would join Oman in charging a US$2-million toll by denying any involvement in the scheme.
“The strait is a natural passage not created by human intervention, and therefore no fees can be imposed under international agreements signed by the sultanate,” Transport Minister Said Al-Maawali said. “Oman’s position on the Strait of Hormuz is clear. We have signed all international maritime transport agreements.”
Those words took on new weight when Iran abruptly closed the strait again later the same day to protest Israel’s continued assault on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, suggesting the shipping channel would continue to operate only at Tehran’s whim.
Lebanese army soldiers and first responders look up at an Israeli drone flying overhead at the site of an Israeli air strike in Beirut on Wednesday.Emilio Morenatti/The Associated Press
The UAE denounced this state of affairs and was particularly critical of the United Nations Security Council for having refused to vote unanimously to keep the strait open.
“No country should have the power to shut down the arteries of global commerce. The Security Council had a responsibility to act, and it failed,” Mohamed Abushahab, the UAE’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said Wednesday. “The Strait of Hormuz cannot become a bargaining chip for Iran, nor a lever in wider global politics.”
However, in remarks intended for domestic consumption, Emirati leaders were more effusive, reassuring citizens and residents that they had always been in control and had won the war.
“The UAE triumphed in a war we sincerely sought to avoid, and we prevailed through an epic national defense that safeguarded sovereignty and dignity and protected our achievements in the face of treacherous aggression,” said Anwar Gargash, a former minister and current senior adviser to the UAE President, in a post Wednesday.