On Monday, UAE Presidential Advisor Anwar Gargash said the UAE is pushing ahead with alternative energy export and trade routes so its core economic interests are not left "held hostage" by the US-Iran conflict. "Our energy exports will not be taken hostage, and our trade and economic activities will never be dictated by others," he said.
Gargash argued that freedom of navigation is not some concession to hand out, nor a principle to reopen under pressure. Full stop. Any durable fix, he said, has to put dependable security mechanisms in place so Iran cannot attack Gulf states again. With a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in the background, and after attacks on its territory and oil tankers, the UAE and Qatar both urged Gulf states to strengthen their domestic security capabilities.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the strategic partnership with the United States matters, but "it is not enough." Gulf states, he said, need a greater level of self-sufficiency in the security sphere.
Gargash also said relations between the UAE and Iran might recover in time. But political trust, after the recent attacks, could take decades to rebuild. He added that Gulf states can no longer count on external allies to always put their security first.