The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking two vessels connected to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as they travelled through the Strait of Hormuz. ADNOC confirmed that two of its ships had been targeted on the evening of August 13 and said the incident was brought under control. No injuries were reported among the crews.
Iran had not publicly responded to the allegation in the immediate aftermath. The available accounts therefore established the Emirati accusation and ADNOC's report of attacks, but did not provide an independent finding about who carried them out or describe the weapons used.
The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned the incident and characterised interference with commercial shipping as piracy and economic coercion. It called on Iran to stop attacks, end hostilities and permit unconditional passage through the strait. The ministry argued that threats to vessels endangered regional stability, trade and global energy supplies.
The episode followed another reported strike on an ADNOC tanker the previous Saturday. The UAE blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for that event, which also caused no reported injuries. ADNOC said 15 vessels associated with the company had been attacked in the strait since the US-Israel war with Iran began in February.
Iran had maintained effective control over access to the waterway and sought payment from users, according to the supplied reports. The United States rejected that approach and imposed a blockade on Iranian shipping. Tehran and Oman were also discussing a possible framework for managing traffic through the strait.
The confrontation produced sharply conflicting claims. US President Donald Trump said American forces exercised total control, while an Iranian state-linked strait authority insisted the passage remained blocked until Tehran's demands were met. Those statements formed part of a wider political and military contest and did not independently resolve the circumstances of the two ADNOC incidents.
The strait's narrow geography gives any disruption significance beyond the vessels immediately involved. It is a key route for Gulf energy exports, so attacks, blockades or new tolls can affect shipping decisions and concerns about supply even when crews escape injury and individual incidents are contained.
For the UAE, the August 13 allegation combined a national-security concern with a direct threat to its state oil company. The lack of casualties limited the immediate human cost, but the repeated nature of the reported incidents increased pressure for a shipping arrangement that could be accepted and enforced by countries on both sides of Hormuz.
The company’s statement that conditions were controlled did not clarify whether either ship continued its voyage or required repairs. Those operational details, like the identity of any attackers, remained unanswered. The absence of injuries was the clearest independently consistent point across the two supplied reports.
