UAE hopes for U.S.-Iran diplomatic breakthrough but says Gulf is ‘braced for the worst’ if regional war resumes

The United Arab Emirates is hoping Qatar-led mediation between Iran and the United States produces a diplomatic breakthrough but is preparing for the possibility of renewed regional warfare, presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash said Sunday.

“We’re hoping that there is a diplomatic breakthrough,” Gargash told the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.

“It is not in the interest of the region to go through another round,” he said. “But I think we’re also, as we’ve shown before, braced for the worst.”

Gargash said another military confrontation would serve neither the Gulf states nor Iran, arguing that political and diplomatic tools should remain the primary means of resolving the crisis.

“We don’t really want to see another round of confrontation in the region. We want to see a diplomatic and political resolution,” he said, while stressing that the UAE was prepared to protect its security, citizens, residents and economic development if hostilities resumed.

His remarks came as Iranian negotiators entered a third day of consultations in Doha with Qatari mediators seeking an agreement between Tehran and Washington that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart broader negotiations.

Iran has agreed to compress a proposed sequence from seven days to two, under which Washington would first take a series of measures sought by Tehran before Iran reopens the strait and restores transit.

Gargash said restoring normal energy and trade flows through Hormuz was a priority for Gulf states, arguing that regional economies should not bear the cost of a crisis they did not create.

“Of course, we are talking to Iran,” he said. “All Gulf countries are talking to Iran through different channels.”

The diplomatic push is unfolding alongside renewed warnings of military escalation. President Donald Trump has said the United States still has “one or two” targets to address in Iran, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump has not made a decision on renewed strikes and Washington remains open to a diplomatic solution.