The United Arab Emirates announced on Monday that they were targeted by an Iranian drone attack and had intercepted cruise missiles, in the first strikes by Tehran in more than a month, which are undermining the truce in the Middle East war.

A drone attack sparked a fire at the Fujairah oil facility, near the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the heart of tensions between the United States and Iran. Three people were injured in the attack, according to local authorities.

The Ministry of Defense later indicated that cruise missiles had been fired towards "different areas of the country". "Three were intercepted over territorial waters, while one fell into the sea," it continued in a message on its social media.

"These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression," the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded, adding that the country "fully reserves its legitimate right to respond to these attacks."

The Emirati authorities have issued several alerts on mobile phones, a first since the entry into force of the Iranian-American ceasefire on April 8, which had stopped Iranian attacks carried out in the Gulf in retaliation for the Israeli-American attack of February 28 against Tehran.

Two people were also injured in an attack on a residential building in the coastal town of Bukha, Oman, on the Strait of Hormuz, a state media outlet reported, without specifying the origin or form of the attack.

As Washington allies on Iran's doorstep, the Emirates have been targeted by more than 2,800 missiles and drones since the start of the conflict, bearing the brunt of Iranian attacks.

In Fujairah, which houses a major port, an oil pipeline and other facilities allowing passage around the Strait of Hormuz, rescue teams were working in the early evening to control the fire, according to the emirate's media office.

Three Indian workers were hospitalized with moderate injuries, he said.

These attacks come the day after Donald Trump announced the launch of a US operation aimed at allowing a resumption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

They also come as the Emirates host a major conference in Abu Dhabi dedicated to national industry and economic resilience.

As a sign of the conflict's impact on the economy, authorities indicated that passenger traffic at Dubai airport, a major international hub, had fallen by two-thirds in March compared to a year earlier.

An Emirati oil tanker was also hit by drones in the Strait of Hormuz late Sunday, prompting strong condemnation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

AFP