DUBAI, April 5, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Emirati air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks from Iran, the United Arab Emirates defence ministry said Sunday, as Tehran said it was targeting aluminium industries in the Gulf nation.

"UAE air defences... are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats," the ministry posted on X in English, along with an Arabic statement that said the projectiles were coming from Iran.

"MOD (Ministry of Defence) asserts that the sounds heard across the country are the result of ongoing engaging operations of missiles and UAVs," it added.

Iran's army said it was targeting "aluminium industries" in the UAE and US military infrastructure in Kuwait, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Iran accuses its Gulf neighbours of allowing US forces to carry out attacks from their territory, but Gulf states have repeatedly denied the accusations, saying even before the war that they would not allow their territory or airspace to be used to attack Iran.

Gulf nations have borne the brunt of Iran's retaliatory attacks since the US and Israel launched strikes in late February that ignited a regional war.

The UAE is a close ally of the United States and only one of two Gulf states to normalise relations with Israel in 2020, the other being Bahrain.

It has been the main target of missiles and drones fired across the Gulf since February 28.