Iran rejects UAE claim of missile launch, calls accusations "baseless"

Tehran [Iran], August 19 (ANI): Iran on Tuesday (local time) rejected the United Arab Emirates' claim that Tehran launched a missile towards the country, with Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei calling the allegations contrary to the principle of good neighbourliness and harmful to regional efforts to build trust.
Baghaei "completely rejected" the UAE's claim and expressed regret over the accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a statement issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on its official Telegram channel.
"This behaviour is contrary to the principle of good neighbourliness and disrupts ongoing efforts to strengthen trust between regional countries and prevent the escalation of insecurity in the region," Baghaei said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson called on regional countries to refrain from making "baseless accusations" against Tehran.
Baghaei said the current situation in the region was already complicated due to what Iran described as actions by the United States and Israel against regional peace and security.
"The Foreign Ministry spokesman called on all regional parties to refrain from making baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, considering the existing complexities due to the ongoing evils of the US and the Zionist regime against regional peace and security, especially the history of numerous false flag operations," he said.
The statement came after the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence on Tuesday said its air defence systems detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards the country, adding that both missiles fell into the sea.
"The first fell outside the country's territorial waters, while the second fell within its territorial waters," the UAE Ministry of Defence said in a post on X.
The UAE Ministry said its armed forces remained on high alert and were prepared to respond to any threats aimed at undermining the country's security and sovereignty.
The development comes amid renewed tensions in the Gulf region, with Tehran and Washington remaining at odds over security issues and the status of commitments under a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June to facilitate technical talks aimed at ending the West Asia conflict. (ANI)