Anwar Gargash, a top adviser to United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), cast doubt on the success of peace talks with Iran on Friday by warning, “No unilateral Iranian arrangements can be trusted or relied upon following its treacherous aggression against all its neighbors.”
Gargash wrote in a post on social media platform X:
In the ongoing discussion surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, the collective international will and provisions of international law emerge as the primary guarantor of freedom of navigation through this vital passage, serving the stability of the region and the global economy in the post-war phase.
The Emiratis became ever more strongly opposed to Iran as the Iranians showered them with hundreds of missile and drone attacks. On Monday, mounting tensions with Iran and disagreements with other member states prompted the UAE to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the oil cartel it joined in 1967.
The ongoing realignment of the Middle East has seen the UAE grow closer to Israel, which took bold steps to protect the Emirates from Iranian missile and drone attacks.
On Sunday, anonymous U.S. and Israeli officials revealed that Israel sent its famed Iron Dome interceptor system to the UAE during Operation Epic Fury – the first time Israel has deployed the Iron Dome on foreign soil during a conflict.
On Friday, another report claimed Israel also sent its Iron Beam laser and Spectro sensors to the UAE, along with a substantial number of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) technicians to operate the systems.
“Amid the limited positive developments to emerge from the Iran war, this relationship [with the UAE] stands out as good news. Ties have advanced to a new level, including at the leadership level,” an Israeli source told CNN on Friday.
Gargash unloaded on the UAE’s Gulf Arab allies at a conference in Dubai on Monday, chastising them for timidity in the face of Iranian aggression, and advising them to start taking Tehran seriously as a threat.
Gargash pointed out that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have mutual defense agreements, but none came to the UAE’s aid when it bore the brunt of Iran’s mad-dog missile and drone strikes.
“I was not surprised by the weakness of the Arab League, but what surprised me was the stance of the Gulf countries,” he said.
Gargash dismissed Iran’s perpetual complaints about the U.S. presence in the Middle East, noting that in March and April, “the missiles that were launched came from Iran, and the air defenses were American. This is a reality.”
The latest round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran did not go well. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran has “made strides” toward a deal, but he was “not sure if they ever get there,” in part because the badly damaged regime has fallen to infighting and discord.
“They’re having a tremendous problem getting along with each other. In Iran, the leadership is very disjointed. It’s got two to three groups, maybe four, and it’s a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up,” the president said.
Trump said Iran “wants to make a deal because they have no military left,” but he was “not satisfied” with Tehran’s latest offer, because “they’re asking for things that I can’t agree to.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Tehran is willing to negotiate if the United States forgoes its “expansionist approach, threatening rhetoric, and provocative actions.”
“Iran’s armed forces are also fully alert and prepared to defend the country decisively and comprehensively against any threat or aggression,” Araghchi added.