Emirati official balances hope and preparation
The United Arab Emirates is looking for a diplomatic opening in the standoff between Iran and the United States while simultaneously preparing for a return to hostilities, a senior Emirati official said on Sunday. Anwar Gargash, who advises the Emirati president on diplomacy, made the remarks at a conference in Manama, the Bahraini capital, days after warnings that the Middle East war could restart.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7]
Gargash indicated that another round of fighting would harm the whole region, and he noted that the Emirates has demonstrated before that it readies itself for the worst-case scenario. His comments placed the UAE between two tracks at once: encouraging negotiations and acknowledging that military escalation remains a live possibility.[S1][S5][S7]
Envoys move as Washington keeps up pressure
The diplomatic moves came after a Qatari delegation traveled to Tehran earlier in the week. Iran then sent envoys to the Gulf nation to keep up consultations that are part of indirect talks with the United States, which are meant to bring the war to an end.[S1]
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Those talks have not silenced the threats. US President Donald Trump repeated them on Saturday, saying Washington still had to deal with one or two targets inside Iran. At the same Manama conference, US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Donald Blome said the United States cannot let Iran hold the region and the global economy hostage, while describing the negotiating channel as open and active and saying Washington was also ready to take a different path.[S1]
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Trump has not decided on new strikes against Iran and that the United States would be open to a diplomatic resolution. The war started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which responded by targeting, among others, Gulf countries aligned with Washington.[S1]
