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European Energy Markets
20JUL

UAE names IRGC over two ADNOC ships

3 min read
11:19UTC

Abu Dhabi called an attack on two state-owned tankers an act of piracy by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, five days after leaving an almost identical incident unattributed.

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Key takeaway

The UAE named the IRGC directly for the first time and called the attack piracy.

Two vessels belonging to ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), the Emirati state producer, came under attack while crossing the strait of Hormuz on the night of Thursday 13 August. Nobody was hurt. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign ministry, in a statement carried by the state news agency WAM, called it "an act of piracy by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps" and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817 on freedom of navigation 1. Bahrain condemned the attack separately. Tehran has claimed nothing.

Five days earlier Abu Dhabi said an Iranian missile had targeted a single ADNOC ship and stopped there, leaving the attacker unnamed and the vessel unidentified . Thursday's statement names the force, cites a Security Council instrument and reaches for a word with specific legal weight. Piracy under the law of the sea means violence committed for private ends, and a state's armed force does not meet that test, which is why the choice reads as political rather than legal.

What the word does buy Abu Dhabi is a category every shipowner and underwriter already prices. A firm chartering a tanker this week reads a Gulf government saying the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) is firing on that government's own ships inside the waterway, and the most exposed hull is the one carrying no Iranian tie to trade on. That reading sits underneath the week's transit collapse rather than beside it.

Abu Dhabi's account remains the only one on the record. No independent confirmation of the attack exists, no vessel names have been released, and the UAE has not said what damage the two ships took.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

ADNOC is the United Arab Emirates' state oil company. Two of its ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz on 13 August, the second such attack in under a week. This time the UAE government directly blamed Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite military and security force separate from Iran's regular army, and called the attack an act of piracy, backing that up by citing a UN Security Council resolution on freedom of navigation. In the earlier attack, five days before, the UAE had blamed only "an Iranian missile" without naming who fired it. That shift, from a vague description to a direct, formal accusation, is itself a signal: the UAE is running out of quieter options.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

The UAE's diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash warned days earlier that the region is trapped "between neither war nor peace" , a complaint from a government that has already spent its influence: it helped talk Trump out of an August strike, yet cannot direct what leaves an Iranian launcher or deter attacks on its own fleet.

Naming the IRGC and citing Resolution 2817 is one of the few tools left once quiet diplomacy has been exhausted and the attacks keep coming regardless.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    A formal piracy characterisation backed by a named UN resolution gives the UAE a stronger basis to seek international insurance, legal or Security Council action than the vaguer 8 August statement did.

  • Risk

    Two attacks on ADNOC shipping within a week, with no Iranian acceptance of responsibility, raises the chance of a third incident before any diplomatic or legal response can take effect.

Sources:The National
Mentions:ADNOC →Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) →Bahrain →WAM →Washington →Strait of Hormuz →Iran →Tehran →Emirates →Abu Dhabi →London →Resolution 2817 →United Arab Emirates (UAE) →
First Reported In

Update #170 · The ships Iran does not control are leaving Hormuz

The National· 14 Aug 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
UAE says an Iranian missile hit its vessel
The 13 August attack follows the 8 August incident the UAE first reported against an ADNOC vessel.
Occurred 7 Aug 2026
Read story →
This Event
UAE names IRGC over two ADNOC ships
The first direct Emirati attribution of an attack on its shipping to a named Iranian force, and the first to reach for a word insurers already know how to price.
Led to
Three tankers hit, one statement twice
The UAE's 13 August statement naming the IRGC and calling an ADNOC attack piracy set the language repeated verbatim after two further tanker attacks on 14 and 15 August.
Occurred 15 Aug 2026
Read story →
Abu Dhabi cuts Iran's payment channel
UAE's naming of the IRGC over tanker attacks preceded the trade and financial halt.
Occurred 17 Aug 2026
Read story →
Different Perspectives
Cross-border power traders
Cross-border power traders
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EDF
EDF
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Gasunie
Gasunie
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German gas-fired generators
German gas-fired generators
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European Commission (DG Energy)
European Commission (DG Energy)
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Spain's LNG terminal operators
Spain's LNG terminal operators
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