The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday ordered the arrest of 35 people, including 19 Indians, accused of “posting video clips on social media platforms that contained misleading and fabricated content” amid tensions in the Gulf nation sparked by the ongoing war between Iran, the US and Israel.
The latest list includes 25 individuals of various nationalities, among them 17 Indians, who have been enrolled in various sections. This is separate from 10 people – including two Indians – who were named and ordered to be arrested on Saturday, news channel PTI reported.
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The official United Arab Emirates (UAE) news agency Wam said the accused had been referred for an expedited trial.
What are the charges against the accused?
According to the authorities, the first group of 10 accused published and circulated authentic video clips showing the movement and interception of missiles in the country’s airspace, as well as the impact of the strikes.
This group consisted of five Indians, one Pakistani, one Nepalese, two Filipinos and one Egyptian.
They also filmed groups of people watching the events and added commentary and sound effects to suggest ongoing attacks, which officials said could cause anxiety and panic among the public.
“AI-Generated Content”
The other group published fictional AI-generated visual content or recirculated footage of incidents from abroad, falsely claiming they took place there. The clips contained synthetic scenes of explosions and gunfire, often with national flags or specific dates, to give credibility to the false claims and mislead the public, according to a statement issued by Attorney General Dr. By Hamad Saif Al Shams.
This group of seven individuals includes five Indians and one each from Nepal and Bangladesh.
“…content glorifying an enemy state”
A third group of six accused published content glorifying the enemy state and its political and military leadership and promoting its regional military aggressions as successes. This included praising the leaders of that state and recirculating propaganda that serves hostile media discourse and harms national interests, the statement added.
Five of the six accused are Indians and one is Pakistani.
The development comes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel, the US and Iran, which entered its second week on Saturday, March 14. The explosions were reported in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other cities in the Persian Gulf – after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Saturday, February 28, in response to Israel’s joint US attacks on the Islamic Republic.
Gulf countries report new attacks
On Sunday, March 15, Gulf countries reported fresh attacks, according to PTI. It came a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates, putting the neighboring country’s non-US assets at risk for the first time.
Smoke rises from the direction of an energy facility in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. Smoke could be seen rising from the direction of a major energy facility in the United Arab Emirates on March 14 in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting oil facilities in the Persian Gulf hours after the US struck Iran’s Kharg Island. (AFP photo) / (AFP)
Tehran has accused the United States of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal.
(with input from agencies)
