The Ministry of External Affairs has denied media reports claiming that India and the UAE are working on a deal to “evacuate” Indian nationals from the UAE through Fujairah port, saying there is “no basis in fact” for such a story.
The claim comes amid a continuation Tensions in West Asia between the US, Israel and Iran, which has seen the UAE targeted by missile and drone attacks, disrupting air traffic.
The Middle East Airlines fact-finding unit asked citizens in a post on the social media platform X to remain alert against “such false and baseless allegations.”
“Fake News Alert! There is no basis in fact for such story. No evacuation planned. Please remain vigilant against such false and baseless claims,” the post read, along with screenshots of the said story.
A media report claimed that the “first-of-its-kind treaty” would see Indians in the UAE evacuated on ships “in case there is an air traffic problem”. It also indirectly linked the signing of the aforementioned agreement to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi planned a stopover in the UAE while on his way to Europe later this week.
The state of the US-Iranian war
Iran sent its response to the latest American proposal to end the Iranian war through Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but the US President Donald Trump quickly dismissed it in a social media post, calling it “completely unacceptable!” – The latest setback to efforts to resolve the standoff in the Persian Gulf, which has choked shipping and led to higher energy prices.
Iranian state television reported that Tehran rejected the proposal as tantamount to surrender, insisting instead on “war reparations by the United States, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of seized Iranian assets.”
The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran was tested when a drone started a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait reported drones entering its airspace. The UAE said it shot down two drones and blamed Iran. There were no reports of injuries, and no group immediately claimed responsibility.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the attack on the ship as a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region.” The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center did not provide any details about the ship’s owner or origin.
Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense spokesman, Brig. Brigadier General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi said that the forces responded to the drones, but he did not say where they came from.
