Iranian naval forces intervened to repel pirates who attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, state television reported on Friday.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ending a military training program in Somalia in response to the seizure of millions of dollars and the temporary holding of a UAE plane by Somali security forces last week.

The Kingdom of Bahrain regrets that the security authorities in the Federal Republic of Somalia seized a private civil aircraft registered in the United Arab Emirates with 47 UAE troops at the Mogadishu International Airport, and the seizure of funds allocated to support the Somali army and trainees," a statement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

The United Arab Emirates denounced on Tuesday the seizure by Somali security staff of several million dollars from one of its civilian aircraft at Mogadishu airport this week

Somalia has banned Dubai ports operator DP World from operating in Somalia, saying that a contract that the company signed last year with the breakaway Somaliland region to develop an economic zone is null and void.