THE United Arab Emirates (UAE) suspended all trade with Iran today, saying it had been hit by Iranian missile fire.

Iran denied having targeted the UAE, but continues to block shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and has fired on ships attempting to pass.It says it is finalising a deal to let shipping through with Oman, but US President Donald Trump is apparently not part of these talks and has twice threatened to bomb Oman, a US ally, if it “gets in the way” of his own plans.

It also issued a warning to countries hosting US bases or troops in the region. Military Chief of Staff General Ali Abdollahi warned “countries on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf” yesterday that “any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation alongside US military forces.”

The US has no formal bases in the UAE, but stations thousands of troops and an air force unit at al-Dhafra, formally a UAE base, while its navy makes regular use of Jebel Ali port in Dubai, one of the state’s constituent emirates.