ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates has said it will not allow its territory to be used for launching attacks against Iran, reaffirming its stance amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
In a statement issued on Monday, the UAE foreign ministry said it had “reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates’ commitment to not allowing its airspace, territory or waters to be used in any hostile military actions against Iran.”
The statement came after President Donald Trump last week said a US “armada” was heading toward the Gulf and that Washington was closely monitoring Iran following the subsiding of protests in the country.
The UAE hosts thousands of US military personnel at the Al Dhafra airbase near Abu Dhabi, one of several American military facilities in the Gulf region.
The foreign ministry said the UAE would also not provide logistical support for any attacks, stressing that “dialogue, de-escalation, adherence to international law, and respect for state sovereignty” remained the best approach to addressing current regional crises.
Iran has warned that it would treat any attack as “an all-out war” after the United States earlier this month dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and other military assets to the Middle East.
US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, along with several destroyers and fighter aircraft, have been moving from the Asia-Pacific region as tensions between Iran and the US escalated in recent months.
A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tehran was on high alert, adding that the military was prepared for the worst-case scenario. The official warned that any form of attack, regardless of scale, would be met with a forceful response.
The US military has periodically increased its presence in the Middle East during times of heightened tensions, often describing such deployments as defensive. However, it carried out a significant military build-up last year ahead of its June strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme.
