Truce holds as Iran denies UAE attacks

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth answers questions during a press briefing.—AFP • Trump claims Iranians ‘know what to do’; warns of strikes if deal not reached• Pentagon says ceasefire still holding, top general feels attacks still ‘below the threshold’ necessitating major combat response• UAE continues to intercept drones, missiles for second straight day• Tehran outlines mechanism for Hormuz navigation, warns ships against using unauthorised routes WASHINGTON/TEHRAN: With the Uni­ted Arab Emirates being targeted for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, the ceasefire between the US and Iran was still holding despite skirmishes a day earlier, while Tehran denied invol­v­ement in the widely condemned drone and missile attacks on the UAE. Iran’s foreign ministry said its “defensive act­ions” were only directed at the US forces, rejecting the UAE’s accusations that it fired drones and missiles against the Gulf country. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, desc­r­ibed the Monday confrontation with Iran as “a little skirmish” and did not see it as a violation of the ceasefire, even tho­ugh his allies, including the Euro­pean states, condemned Tehran for its alleged strikes on the UAE. “You’ll find out, beca­use I’ll let you know. They (Iran) know what to do … and they know what not to do,” he said, adding that Iran did not violate the ceasefire. He also rep­e­ated his threat of strikes on Iran unless an agreement was reached, saying if Iran was unable to rea­ch a deal, “they won’t be successful. It’ll go very qu­i­ckly and methodically”. He played down the Iranian attack on the US ships trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz and termed the incidents “a little skirmish”. “We’re in a little skirmish militarily. I call it a skirmish because Iran has no cha­nce. They never did. They know it,” President Tru­mp said during an event. He also asked Iran to surrender, claiming its military had been destroyed. However, Iran claimed five civilians were killed in the US strikes, targeting