On March 28, the government of Abu Dhabi said that six people were injured as a result of debris from an intercepted missile falling on the Kezad special economic zone. Later, EGA said that the plant in Al Taweelah was seriously damaged. The plant was fully evacuated, and facilities were put into emergency shutdown mode.
"To resume operations at the smelter, EGA must repair infrastructure damage and progressively restore each of the reduction cells. Early indications are that a complete restoration of primary aluminium production could take up to 12 months," a statement read.
In 2025, the smelter in Al Taweelah produced 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal. At the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, EGA had significant amount of metal stocks in the UAE and other regions.
Iran has been striking Israeli territory and US military targets in the Middle East in response to the joint military operation launched by the United States and Israel on February 28. The first day of military action saw Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed and a girls’ school in southern Iran bombed.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched strikes on targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran responded by striking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.