UAE Secretly Struck Iran's Lavan Island Refinery, WSJ Reports
The attack sparked a major fire and knocked much of the refinery’s capacity offline for months, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
- On May 11, 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United Arab Emirates secretly conducted military strikes against Iran, including an early April attack on the Lavan Island refinery that disabled processing capacity for months.
- Relentless Iranian missile and drone barrages, totaling more than 2,800 attacks throughout the conflict, prompted Abu Dhabi to shift its reactive posture and initiate direct military operations against Iranian assets.
- Although the UAE has not publicly acknowledged the strikes, the U.S. government quietly welcomed the Gulf state's participation, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Journal.
- Iran described the refinery blast as an "enemy attack" and immediately retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting both the UAE and Kuwait, escalating the regional conflict.
- Analysts warn that direct Gulf participation risks further paralyzing energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as the conflict's expansion threatens to disrupt global shipping and deepen regional instability.
112 Articles
112 Articles
The report states that in early April an Emirati attack targeted an Iranian oil refinery on the island of Lavan, located in the Persian Gulf.
While direct attacks against Iran are officially claimed only by Israel and the United States, the United Arab Emirates has also committed itself to the offensive, in the most complete secrecy, revealed on Monday 11 May the American daily Wall Street Journal. According to anonymous sources cited in the newspaper, the Gulf country has, in particular, engaged its aircraft against a refinery in April.
Gulf Nation Allegedly Conducted Secret Strikes “Inside Iran”
According to a new report, the United Arab Emirates quietly conducted military counter-strikes against an Iranian oil refinery. “Sources confirm to Fox News’ Bret Baier, reporting from The Wall Street Journal, that forces from the United Arab Emirates are carrying out military strikes inside Iran,” John Roberts said. “Fox is told that the UAE forces are directly engaged inside the Islamic Republic and have been for several days. This comes after…
The attacks have not been confirmed by the government in Abu Dhabi. But if the report is correct, it is now known that a third country is involved in attacks on Iran.
According to U.S. daily WSJ, which cites anonymous sources, these attacks by the Emirates mainly targeted oil installations on the island of Lavan, the Iranian territory of the Gulf in early April. Article The United Arab Emirates attacked Iran. The richest state in the Gulf first appears in Romania TV.
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- 52% of the sources lean Right
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