# Report: UAE secretly struck Iran's Lavan refinery during the war
> The WSJ says Mirage 2000 jets hit a Gulf island refinery, making the UAE the only third country to attack Iran — after Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Emirati targets

**Meta:** type: story · date: 2026-06-24 · heads: Cómo terminan de verdad las guerras, Lo que no dicen · 7 takes · 1 lenses · 7 regions

## Summary

The Wall Street Journal reported that the [United Arab Emirates](/es/entity/united-arab-emirates), citing people familiar,
struck [Iran](/es/entity/iran)'s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf — including a refinery — around early
April 2026, making the Emirates the only country besides the US and Israel to attack Iran
during the war. Analysts and Iranian state media identified UAE Air Force Mirage 2000 jets;
the UAE confirmed Mirages were scrambled to intercept drones but did not confirm or deny a
strike. Its foreign ministry declined to comment, pointing to earlier statements asserting
a "right to respond" to Iranian attacks. By 1 April, the UAE's defence ministry said Iran
had fired 438 ballistic missiles, 2,012 drones and 19 cruise missiles at the Emirates;
earlier strikes hit Dubai and Abu Dhabi, damaging airport terminals and the Burj Al Arab.
[Mohammed Bin Zayed](/es/entity/mohammed-bin-zayed) was the Gulf's most hawkish voice before backing the ceasefire.

## By the numbers

- 1 — third country, after the US and Israel, reported to have struck Iran.
- 438 / 2,012 / 19 — Iranian ballistic missiles / drones / cruise missiles at the UAE (per UAE MoD, by 1 April).
- early April 2026 — reported timing of the Lavan refinery strike.

## Why it matters

If confirmed, the strike marks a sharp departure from the UAE's hedging posture and reveals
how directly the war drew in the Gulf. It complicates [MBZ's
pivot](/es/n/mbz-iran-ceasefire-hormuz) to Arab coordination and a Hormuz reopening, and gives Tehran a grievance against
Abu Dhabi as the ceasefire's implementation begins.

## What to watch

- Whether the UAE ever acknowledges the strike or Iran retaliates diplomatically.
- How the Lavan episode shapes UAE-Iran relations under the MoU.
- Any further detail from US or Iranian sources on the operation.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **Times of Israel** (Israel, en) — Carries the WSJ-sourced report that UAE Mirage 2000 jets struck Iran's Lavan Island refinery around early April, making the Emirates the only country besides the US and Israel to attack Iran — the Israeli amplification of a Gulf escalation.
  > "The UAE secretly carried out strikes on Iran, including an oil refinery, according to a report."
  Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/uae-secretly-carried-out-strikes-on-iran-including-on-oil-refinery-report/
- **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — Centres the Iranian-fire side — UAE reporting incoming missiles and drones and a refinery fire — framing the Emirates as a target of the war as much as a participant, the regional counter-context to the strike claim.
  > "The UAE reports incoming missile and drone strikes from Iran amid the war."
  Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/4/uae-reports-missile-and-drone-strikes-incoming-from-iran
- **The National** (United Arab Emirates, en) — Abu Dhabi-owned paper's account of the Iranian strikes on the UAE — casualties and a gas plant hit — stays close to the official Emirati line, asserting a right to respond without confirming any UAE strike on Iran.
  > "The UAE reports casualties and damage from Iranian drone and missile strikes."
  Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/04/03/uae-iran-drone-missile-strikes/
- **Kyiv Post** (Ukraine, en) — 
  Source: https://www.kyivpost.com/post/75956
- **Euronews** (Europe, en) — 
  Source: https://www.euronews.com/2026/03/01/iranian-strikes-hit-dubai-and-abu-dhabi-damaging-airport-terminals-and-the-burj-al-arab
- **CNBC** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/04/iran-war-uae-trump-ceasefire-missiles.html
- **Wikipedia (strikes on UAE)** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iranian_strikes_on_the_United_Arab_Emirates

## Across the graph
- Related: [[mbz-iran-ceasefire-hormuz]], [[iran-us-ceasefire-mou]], [[hormuz-oil-supply-shock]]
- Entities: Mohammed Bin Zayed, United Arab Emirates, Iran

---
Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/es/n/uae-secret-strikes-iran