United Arab Emirates

The big question confronting Gulf policymakers is no longer how the Iran war ends, but what kind of regional order will follow its end.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, wrote that the current war requires a decisive outcome that addresses the full scope of the Islamic Republic’s threat.

National security cannot be managed through political play-acting but rather through precise calculations of power.

The war on Iran has affected fares and demand, with Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Qatar Airways, and Air Arabia seeing flight numbers drop to near-zero after the war began on February 28.

The current conflict brings fears of a tragedy like the one that happened in 2020, where the Iranian regime accidentally shot down a passenger jet and killed the 176 people inside.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said teams had been sent to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan, states that have come under fire during the Iran war.

The Gulf is not growing warm toward Israel; it is becoming more specific in the way it discusses Israel. In this region, word choice is often the first sign that strategy is moving.

The Gulf monarchies built modern states on a promise of order, growth, and security. Iran has attacked all three. They now face a test of seriousness.

In the letter, Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE’s decision to allow its territory to be used for the strikes constituted "an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility."

Both political and non-political responses are possible, threatened Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan amidst increasing Iranian missile strikes across the region.