UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash stated that rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take “ages and ages” following Iran’s targeting of the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East conflict.
Gargash, speaking at a World Policy Conference in Chantilly, north of Paris, said 89 percent of Iranian attacks targeted civilians, civilian infrastructure, and energy infrastructure. He emphasized that Tehran was telling Gulf countries they didn’t matter in its calculations, which he believes will last for a very long time.
To the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Iran will be seen as a strategic threat, Gargash said. Israeli-US strikes on Iran in late February sparked conflict, with Tehran targeting US allies in the Gulf. A ceasefire was agreed upon at the start of the month, but peace talks in Pakistan have stalled recently.
Since the truce, both the United States and Iran have focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports flow. Iran has all but closed it in retaliation for the war, while the US has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports. Gargash believes Israeli influence in the Gulf will increase due to Iran’s regional strategy.