Becky Anderson
CNN / April 6, 2026
The United Arab Emirates insists that any ceasefire in Iran must address Gulf Arab states’ security concerns and avoid “a much more dangerous environment in the region,” a top official said.
Anwar Gargash, advisor to the UAE president, told CNN that Abu Dhabi wants “to see an end to this conflict, but an end to this conflict should not also create a continuous instability in the region.” Any agreement would have to address Tehran’s nuclear program as well as the missiles and drones “which are still raining on us and on other countries.”
“And then, if Iran also wants to see a non-belligerence agreement, that agreement has to extend to everybody. It’s not only American-Israeli actions against Iran, but it has to be also Iran’s belligerence against its neighbours,” he said.
Iran’s attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbours are likely to “concretize” the US role in the Gulf, “not reduce it,” he said. “We will also see Israeli influence become more prominent in the Gulf, not less.”
A key demand for Iran in stopping the war is the closure of US bases in the region, which it says are used to stage attacks against Iran.
“Our main security partner is the United States. We will double down on our relationship with the United States,” Gargash added.
He said the Strait of Hormuz has to be “part and parcel” of any settlement, “with a clear agreement on that,” adding that while the UAE is “not ready to act as a maritime force” at the strait, “we will join any American-led effort, international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Gargash insisted that the UAE is resilient and that its economic fundamentals are strong.
“If you asked me over the last 20 years, what is the sort of unlikely worst-case scenario that the UAE can face, I would have said a full Iranian attack,” he said. “And this is what we are really seeing… And now, when the worst-case scenario is happening… we are coping very well, and we are finding out that we are very resilient.”
