Abu Dhabi, March 1 (Petra) - The UAE Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that the country’s air force had destroyed 20 Iranian ballistic missiles launched toward Emirati territory. Eight missiles fell into the sea, in addition to the destruction of two cruise missiles and 311 drones, while 21 drones struck civilian targets.

In a statement, the ministry affirmed the capability of the air force and air defense systems to deal with various threats. It said that since the start of the Iranian attack on Saturday, 165 ballistic missiles had been detected as launched from Iran toward the United Arab Emirates. Of those, 152 were destroyed and 13 fell into the sea waters.

The ministry added that two cruise missiles were also detected and destroyed. It further reported that 541 Iranian drones were launched, of which 506 were intercepted and destroyed, while 35 drones fell ÏÇÎá UAE territory, causing material damage.

It noted that debris resulting from the interception of ballistic missiles and drones by air defense systems caused minor to moderate material damage to several civilian facilities in various areas across the UAE.

//Petra// AF

01/03/2026 20:27:31