Abu Dhabi, March 2 -- The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned Iranian missile attacks targeting both the UAE and the "sisterly" Sultanate of Oman, calling them a "dangerous escalation" and announcing the immediate closure of its embassy in Tehran along with the withdrawal of its ambassador and diplomatic staff.

In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Iranian attacks represented a "blatant violation of state sovereignty" and posed a direct threat to regional security and stability.

The Ministry said that broadening the scope of the attacks to include "sisterly and friendly nations" was unacceptable.

"Expanding the scope of these attacks to include sisterly and friendly nations is unacceptable and condemned b...