UAE intercepts Iranian drone as US-Iran clashes reignite regional tensions

The UAE said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters after fresh US-Iran exchanges of fire. The episode highlighted a dangerous regional escalation as wars and alliances reshaped security calculations.Tensions in the Middle East rose again on Monday after the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters. The incident came after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend in the first significant military action in the war in more than a month.Elsewhere, Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza City, while leaders of China, Russia and India gathered in Kyrgyzstan for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Israel also signed a major weapons deal with Greece, Iraq rejected a proposal linked to the future of a US-led coalition, Turkiye said more countries could join a new three-nation defence pact, Lebanon sought Greek help to implement its agreement with Israel, and the USS Abraham Lincoln moved closer to Thailand after its long Middle East deployment.The UAE's Defence Ministry said Iran fired a drone at the country on Monday and that it was intercepted over UAE territorial waters. On Sunday, after more than a month without significant fighting, the US attacked rocket launchers on an Iranian island, saying they were preparing to launch mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then launched missiles at US sites in Jordan, but all of them were intercepted.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country was not seeking war, but added that "we will respond decisively to aggressors." The UAE described the drone attack as a "dangerous escalation" by Iran. During the lull in fighting, the US had increased economic pressure on Iran in an effort to force concessions from Tehran, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. In Gaza City, hospital officials said Israeli airstrikes killed at least five Palestinians on Monday. Shifa Hospital said one strike hit the entrance to a residential building near the city's municipal park, killing two people and critically wounding two others. A second strike hit a vehicle in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, killing three people.The Israeli military said it had targeted suspected militants in the vehicle, but did not provide evidence. It did not comment on the first strike. The deaths were among the latest reported in Gaza since a ceasefire deal reached in October sought to halt the war between Israel and Hamas, which has lasted more than two years. The Health Ministry says at least 1,320 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since then. In Kyrgyzstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined other leaders for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, a grouping presented as a counterweight to US global influence. Pezeshkian was due to meet Putin on the sidelines on Tuesday. In the US, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to host meetings of G20 finance ministers in North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday as Washington pressed other countries to help economically isolate Iran.Israel also signed what it called its biggest-ever weapons deal with Greece. Israel's Defence Ministry said the 3 billion-euro, or USD 3.5 billion, agreement, named Achilles Shield, includes a multilayered air defence system for Greece using Israeli technology. The deal comes as Israel's defence exports reached more than USD 19 billion last year, up 30 per cent from 2024, according to official data, despite criticism of Israel's conduct in its wars in Gaza, with Hezbollah and with Iran.In Iraq, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi rejected a proposal to keep some forces from the US-led coalition in the country after September 30, when the mission is due to end. Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi did not say who made the proposal or give details. US troops withdrew from most Iraqi bases last year but kept a presence in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, with the remaining troops due to leave within a month. Bases hosting US troops there have regularly come under attack since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28. Some Kurdish officials and residents have expressed concern about losing US air defence systems and protection against IS and Iran-backed militias.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said countries were welcome to join the defence pact signed by Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on August 7. The three countries agreed that an attack on one would be treated as an attack on all. Fidan said the Mecca Defence Alliance could accept new members after the first high-level meeting of the current member states. Egypt has been mentioned as a possible member, and Fidan promised close collaboration with "friendly countries." Monday's meeting also included the three countries' defence ministers and chiefs of staff, and members said the alliance was meant to strengthen collective defence in a way similar to NATO's Article 5, without being aimed at any specific foe.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, meanwhile, sought Greece's help in implementing an agreement to end the war with Israel. During meetings in Athens with Greek President Constantine Tassoulas and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Aoun said Lebanon had gone through long wars and that "its people are tired." Referring to the US-brokered framework agreement signed in late June, he said, "we ask Greece to do all it can to help Lebanon in implementing the agreement." He also said that "trying to solve the problem through military force will not succeed." At the same time, the USS Abraham Lincoln was nearing Thailand for an expected port call near Pattaya after a lengthy deployment in support of US operations in the Iran war. The carrier and its battle group, carrying about 5,000 sailors, had spent more than 250 days continuously at sea. Taken together, the developments underlined how the conflict continues to shape military, diplomatic and political moves across the wider region and beyond.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 31, 2026 20:18 IST