UAE Adviser Gargash Hopes for U.S.-Iran Breakthrough but Prepares for Renewed Conflict

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said on November 1 that his country hoped talks between the United States and Iran would produce a diplomatic breakthrough. Speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, he said the UAE was also preparing for the possibility of renewed conflict. “We’re hoping that there is a diplomatic breakthrough,” Gargash said. He said another round of fighting would not serve the region’s interests, while making clear that the UAE remained prepared for a worse outcome. Gargash had addressed the relationship between the Iranian threat and UAE ties with Israel in a separate interview on May 16 at the Europe Gulf Forum in Costa Navarino, Greece. He described relations with Israel as formal and openly conducted, and said he expected them to strengthen as Iran was increasingly perceived as a strategic threat. In that earlier interview, Gargash described joining the Abraham Accords as a sovereign strategic choice that the UAE continued to support. He also said differences over Israeli policy toward a Palestinian state did not prevent continued dialogue with Israel.