DUBAI: A senior UAE official has denied that the country was involved in a strike on a desalination plant in Iran, Jerusalem Post has reported.
“The UAE will never place the Iranian people in the same basket as the Iranian regime. The Iranian people are the real victims of that regime and the ones who suffer the most from its policies,” Ali Al-Nuaimi, chairman of the UAE’s National Defense Committee, stated.
“As neighbors, we recognize this reality, and we care about their well-being.”
On Sunday, Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said any announcements regarding UAE maneuvers would be communicated through official channels.
“The UAE is in a state of self-defense in the face of the Iranian aggression that targeted its territories, its people, and its civilian infrastructure,” he posted on X.
“Any defensive measures that the state will take will be public and clear, and will not rely on press leaks or narratives from unknown sources and intentions.
“Our goal is to stop this ongoing aggression against the UAE and the Arab Gulf states, not to be dragged into escalation,” he added.
Earlier reports claimed that the UAE struck the desalination facility in what would have been its first retaliatory actions against the barrage of missiles and drones from Iran.
A source close to the UAE noted that officials in Abu Dhabi were having difficulty understanding Israel’s conduct and the nature of the briefings, Jerusalem Post reported, as the UAE is a sovereign state that makes its decisions independently and that publications of this kind do not assist the regional effort and could harm relations.
It was inappropriate for what was described as a “senior Israeli official” to speak on the UAE’s behalf or to spread rumors about the actions of another sovereign state, Jerusalem Post reported, quoting the unnamed source.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that an American attack hit a freshwater desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island, disrupting water supplies in 30 villages, posting on X that “the US set this precedent, not Iran.”
