Top updates: Three Indians injured in UAE drone attack as tensions rise in Strait of Hormuz

Three Indians were injured on Monday in a fire caused by a drone attack at an industrial area in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, amid renewed tensions in West Asia, PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he condemns the attack, and asserted that targeting civilians and infrastructure was unacceptable. The Ministry of External Affairs called for an “immediate cessation of these hostilities”.

The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi said that it is coordinating with the authorities to ensure medical care for the citizens who were injured.

Here are more top updates from the war in West Asia:

• Modi, in his statement after the drone attack, said that India “stands in firm solidarity with the UAE and reiterates its support for the peaceful resolution of all issues through dialogue and diplomacy”. He added: “Ensuring safe and unimpeded navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is vital for enduring regional peace, stability and global energy security.”
• Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also reiterated India’s stance calling for dialogue and diplomacy. “We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law,” the statement said.
• The authorities in the UAE said their air defence systems had intercepted 15 missiles and three drones launched from Iran, while confirming the injuries.
• The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the drone attack as a “serious escalation” and an “unacceptable act of aggression”, warning that they constitute a threat to national security, Gulf News reported.

• On Monday, the United States said that it had launched a military operation in the Strait of Hormuz, destroying six small Iranian vessels and countered aerial threats targeting shipping routes, Reuters reported.
• However, President Donald Trump said that seven Iranian vessels had been sunk in the US military operation called “Project Freedom”. He also said that a South Korean cargo ship had been damaged in an alleged Iranian attack. “Other than the South Korean ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the strait,” he said.
• Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US Central Command, on Monday refused to comment on whether the ceasefire in West Asia that began on April 8 remained in effect, Reuters reported.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the developments showed there was “no military solution” to the crisis and cautioned against further escalation by the US while Pakistan is mediating the peace talks. “The US should be wary of being dragged back into a quagmire by ill-wishers,” he said. “So should the UAE.”

The war

The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region, targeting major cities in Gulf countries and ships.

Tehran also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.

The peace talks between Iran and the US that were held in Islamabad, Pakistan collapsed on April 12 but the ceasefire in the region had largely held.

Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.