MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The United Arab Emirates’ presidential adviser said Sunday his country hopes a diplomatic breakthrough in the mediations led by Qatar It is possible to avoid a new round of confrontation between the United States and Iran.
The war in IranThe crisis, which began on February 28 with joint strikes by the United States and Israel followed by attacks by Iran on Gulf countries, has made it “a pivotal year” for the region and the world, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told a security forum in Bahrain.
“We don’t really want to see another round of confrontations in the region,” Gargash told the audience at the Manama Dialogue, an annual security summit in Bahrain organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS, which brings together regional and international officials and experts from state, defense and foreign affairs.
Iranian negotiators are in Qatar for negotiations on a proposal that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He said that no direct negotiations were taking place with the United States and that the final outcome depended on the answers provided by the United States to the “Iranian questions.”
In an interview shared on his Telegram channel, Araghchi said Iran hoped the The United States would choose “diplomacy over other paths.” He said Iran was prepared for both defense and diplomacy, depending on Washington’s “rationality.”
Fear of escalation casts shadow over forum
A possible escalation has cast a shadow over the three-day security forum in Bahrain’s capital Manama.
Gargash, the UAE adviser, said the current crisis requires “a lot of wisdom, with political tools being our main tools, and the understanding that military solutions will only complicate the current very complicated situation that we are experiencing and will not actually bring any quick exit.”
Gargash acknowledged, however, that “the rules of logic” show that the American and Iranian positions are very different.
“If these positions are not filled, then we will have to worry about the worst,” Gargash said.
He said it was neither in the interests of the region nor of Iran to resist a new round of wars.
It was a sentiment shared by other Arab and Gulf officials present at the forum.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the assembly a day earlier: “The second cycle (of escalation) will be more dangerous, more destructive and will lead nowhere.” »
But Gargash added that his country and the region are preparing for a possible escalation.
Before a ceasefire was agreed in April, the UAE faced the highest number of Iranian air attacks, with more than 3,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks targeting airports, military and oil installations, according to the IISS. Most of these attacks were intercepted.
Since then, Gulf countries have spent billions of dollars to strengthen their defense capabilities.
Gargash said the war solidified relations between the United States and the United Arab Emirates, making them “even more important” and central to the UAE’s ability to defend itself.
Bahrain welcomes efforts to reduce tensions
At the conference, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said his country also welcomed “all efforts to reduce tensions, prevent escalation and create opportunities for dialogue.”
Al Zayani said Iran has shown what he calls a series of attacks or threats of attacks threatening the stability and prosperity of the region and the world by targeting maritime, air and data facilities.
He said Iran continued to do so even after a ceasefire was reached and as recently as last month, threatening underwater data cables. He described attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on neighboring Saudi Arabia as part of this trend.
“These attacks are part of an ongoing trend,” he said. “The hands may change, but not the approach.”
Iran fired 500 drones and nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, at the height of the war, according to the IISS. The attacks hit the naval base, apartment buildings, the financial district and a water desalination plant.
This summer, Houthi rebels stepped up attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and airports, saying they were a response to Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa airport. The Houthis have destroyed critical oil pipelines and disrupted air traffic in the kingdom.
Another issue that prevailed at the forum was the lack of a coordinated defense response among the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
At the height of the war with Iran, the response of the Gulf countries that bore the brunt of Iranian strikes was at the national level, each working with U.S. command and control centers in the region. According to the IISS, this sometimes hindered their overall defensive effort.
Gargash offered a rare frank criticism.
“I must say that we have not collectively taken up the challenge. At the national level, we have done it. Each state has done it independently, or sometimes in terms of bilateral cooperation,” Gargash said. “In one of our most critical crises, we collectively failed to rise to the challenge. »
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