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UAE was aware for months region was heading into crisis: Top diplomat
Gargash revealed that that he'd personally delivered a message from Trump to Iran last year in efforts to opening a negotiating channel
- PUBLISHED: Fri 6 Mar 2026, 6:27 PM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
The UAE's multi-layered air defence systems have intercepted more than 1,000 Iranian missile and drone attacks in less than five days, Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President said, stressing that ports, schools and businesses have continued to function throughout the assault.
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"We were not the aggressor — we were attacked," Gargash said in an exclusive podcast interview on Maraya program, adding that the Emirates had spent months attempting to mediate a diplomatic solution before the war broke out.
Diplomatic efforts before war
Gargash revealed that the UAE had been aware for months that the region was heading toward a crisis, and that he personally delivered a message from US President Donald Trump to the Iranian Foreign Ministry in March last year as part of efforts to open a negotiating channel. The Emirates also offered to serve as a facilitator in the talks.
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“Once we saw that the negotiations had failed, we knew the drums of war had begun to beat,” he said.
The crisis, he explained, was rooted in three core issues, Iran's nuclear programme and uranium enrichment, its ballistic missile programme, and its destabilising regional policies that have fuelled conflicts across the Arab world for decades.
Indiscriminate targeting shocks Gulf states
Dr Gargash said the most alarming aspect of the conflict was not the war itself, which many had anticipated, but Iran’s decision to strike Gulf states indiscriminately.
He dismissed earlier Iranian claims that only foreign military bases were being targeted, saying the attacks made no distinction between civilian and military infrastructure.
“Is this how Iran repays countries like Qatar and Oman, which worked so hard to prevent this war?” he said. He added that the strikes had confirmed two realities that were previously debated — that Iran poses a genuine threat to the region, and that its missile programme is offensive, not defensive.
Air defences hold, daily life preserved
Despite the scale of the assault, Gargash said the UAE's air defence architecture — built from multiple overlapping layers — had performed beyond expectations. Flights were increased from 48 to 80 daily to help tourists to go back to their countries, schools shifted to remote learning, and commercial operations continued.
“Our ports are working, our companies are working, our schools are working remotely. Life goes on — even as we are at war,” he said, crediting years of proactive investment by the country’s leadership in anticipating the changing nature of regional threats.
Iran’s growing isolation
Dr Gargash noted that the Iranian attacks had triggered an unprecedented wave of international solidarity with the UAE. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed received more than 45 calls from counterparts around the world in a matter of days, all expressing condemnation of the Iranian aggression.
“These are not protocol calls. They are a clear message that you are right, and those attacking you are wrong,” Gargash said, adding that world leaders also reached out to the UAE President partly because tens of thousands of their own nationals reside in the country.
Gargash described Iran’s decision to widen the conflict as a “desperate and ill-conceived” miscalculation that had only deepened its international isolation, while simultaneously being unable to match the scale of American and Israeli strikes.“Whatever Iran’s plan was, it has backfired,” he said.
Future of UAE-Iran relations
Asked about the future of relations with Tehran, Gargash compared trust to a vase that, once broken, can be pieced back together but will always show the cracks. “Rebuilding trust — regardless of who governs Iran — will take decades,” he said, calling on Iran to immediately halt its attacks on all Gulf states, from Kuwait to Oman, as a prerequisite for any return to dialogue.
Gulf coordination: More needed
On GCC coordination, Gargash said the response had been unified but called for deeper, more institutionalised cooperation — not just during crises, but before them.
He urged a revival of dormant joint Gulf projects, including a unified Gulf military force. “We are all in the same trench. But we need more,” he said.
The day after
Looking ahead, Gargash said Iran’s missile programme must now be part of any post-war negotiating table — not just its nuclear activities.
He said the UAE's role would be one of facilitation rather than direct negotiation, with the primary dialogue needing to be between the United States and Iran.
“The UAE did not seek this war. We sought peace. That remains our position,” he said. “But the rules have changed, and any solution must remove the cloud of instability that has hung over this region for more than twenty years.”
The strength of the UAE model
Gargash warned that the military conflict was being accompanied by a parallel war of rumours and disinformation amplified through social media, urging residents to rely solely on official UAE sources. “Whoever spreads a rumour wants you to react to it — because your reaction gives it credibility,” he said.
He also reflected on what makes the UAE resilient, pushing back against suggestions that the country’s reputation as a business and investment hub had been damaged.
He argued that the strength of the UAE model lies not in its surface image but in its foundations: social cohesion, an open economy, a fair judicial system, and a leadership that has consistently planned ahead.
He spoke warmly of the UAE President’s leadership philosophy, describing him as a calm, consultative figure who operates with a clear distinction between what is permanent the nation and its foundations and what is temporary crises and hardships. “He always says: don’t worry. And that phrase reflects a mindset that the country is solid and the crisis will pass,” Gargash said. “But beneath that calm, entire teams are working tirelessly.”
Turning to the international community and investors, he said the world already understands who the aggressor is and that the UAE was not a party to this war.
He noted that the Canadian Prime Minister had personally thanked the UAE President for protecting the large Canadian community residing in the country, and that similar expressions of gratitude had come from Germany, India, and across Europe — a reflection, he said, of the UAE’s role as a home for the world’s communities.
“The international community stands with us. Investors know this model is solid — not just economically, but in its values, its humanity, and its institutions,” he said.
He concluded with an expression of deep pride in the UAE’s armed forces, its state institutions, and its society both citizens and residents for the solidarity and love they had shown for the country during the crisis.
“I am truly proud of every member of this community. What we are witnessing in terms of the response of our armed forces, the resilience of our institutions, and the unity of our people is something that would challenge even the most established nations in the world. The UAE will come out of this stronger.”
Ruqayya Alqaydi is a Special Correspondent with an endless curiosity to learn. Like a journalist on a caffeine overdrive, she is fuelled by passion and on a mission to uncover every gem in the UAE.