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Iran targeted the UAE and Bahrain's main aluminium producers in the past 24 hours, causing damage to both their facilities.
Emirates Global Aluminium and Aluminium Bahrain both confirmed their plants were affected by the attacks, with injuries reported at both sites.
The strikes mark a significant escalation by Tehran, which now appears to be trying to strike heavy industry essential to the Gulf economies. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the attacks on Alba and EGA were in retaliation to US-Israeli attacks on Iranian steel plants.
"Al Taweelah site sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi," EGA said.
"Assessment of the damage is continuing. A number of EGA employees were injured. None of the injuries are life threatening."
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA, added that he was "deeply saddened and are assessing the damage to our facilities".
Aluminium Bahrain, known as Alba, said on Sunday that two of its employees sustained minor injuries.
Alba is "assessing the extent of the damage to its facilities and remains focused on maintaining its operational resilience", it added.
EGA's plant is located in the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (Kezad), where three fires broke out on Saturday following missile interceptions, and were later brought under control.
The Al Taweelah smelter produced 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal in 2025. The company is jointly owned by sovereign wealth funds Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
"EGA had substantial metal stock on the water when the conflict began, and stock on the ground in some overseas locations," the statement added.
EGA is the only UAE producer and makes the country the fifth-largest aluminium-producing nation in the world. The company has more than 400 customers in over 50 countries and sold 2.84 million tonnes of cast metal last year. Its aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging, aerospace and electronics industries.
Gulf countries account for about 8 per cent of global primary aluminium production, according to the International Aluminium Institute, with most of it exported to international markets through the Strait of Hormuz.
Central players along with EGA and Alba include Ma'aden Aluminium in Saudi Arabia, Qatalum in Qatar and Sohar Aluminium in Oman.
Alba had earlier this month initiated a "controlled and safe shutdown" of about 19 per cent of its production capacity due to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The shutdown will affect lines 1, 2 and 3, which contribute to Alba’s total production capacity of more than 1.62 million metric tonnes per annum, the company said at the time.
Alba also declared force majeure on its deliveries due to transit issues. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Qatalum also announced a controlled production shutdown on March 3 due to natural gas shortages.
Also on Sunday, Bahrain's Foulath Holding, an industrial group and the parent company of Bahrain Steel and SULB, announced a force majeure for certain group operations due to war disruptions.
The "rapidly evolving situation in the region, including airspace restrictions, disruption to certain maritime routes, and heightened security risks, has created circumstances beyond the group’s control", the Bahrain News Agency cited the company as saying on Sunday.
That has affected its operations and supply chain networks. Hence, it has temporarily suspended certain activities "as a precautionary measure".
Aluminium industry impact
The conflict in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the aluminium industry.
Along with serving as the gateway for exports, the strait also supplies the producers with raw materials, adding to the risk of reducing stock for them.
Aluminium producers have been actively exploring alternative options for both exports of refined metal and imports of raw materials, Julius Baer said in a note last week. These include trucking from and to ports in Oman and Saudi Arabia as well as the Fujairah port – which is also connected to the UAE's Etihad Rail network.
"While trucking is significantly more expensive than direct seaborne shipping, it avoids the costly and lengthy process of closing and restarting a smelter," the note said. "Across the region, we estimate that around 70 per cent to 80 per cent of production can be rerouted."
