Iran warns Gulf nations against helping US as UAE halts trade ties

Iran’s armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, hours after the United Arab Emirates announced it was severing economic ties with Tehran following new attacks on shipping.

The Gulf is dotted with US military installations, including in the UAE, which said on Tuesday that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at vessels off its coast.

Despite a recent lull in hostilities between the United States and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz – which Tehran has blockaded and through which vessels departing most UAE ports must pass – remains a flashpoint, and attacks on commercial ships have continued.

A framework US-Iran deal aimed at reopening the vital trade corridor collapsed, and although both sides recently said messages were being exchanged, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted talks were off, taunting Iran with a social media post depicting the strait as a “NEW U.S. Territory”.

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi warned on Wednesday “that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation”, according to the Mehr news agency.