At GLOBSEC 2026 in Prague, Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, delivered a sober and strategically precise assessment during the high-profile session “Between the Powers: The UAE’s Role in a Fractured Middle East.” The remarks, reported by Dr. Mohammed Aldhaheri, offered a sweeping survey of the region’s most pressing fault lines — and a distinctly Emirati roadmap for navigating them.

Speaking at a moment where the prospects of war and peace appear almost evenly balanced, Dr. Gargash argued that the region cannot remain indefinitely trapped in crisis management. What is needed, he contended, is not a piecemeal ceasefire but a comprehensive political solution — one that addresses the full spectrum of core concerns about Iran: its nuclear programme, its ballistic missile and drone capabilities, maritime disruption, and its broader pattern of regional behaviour.

The Strait of Hormuz: A Red Line for Global Commerce

On the Strait of Hormuz, Dr. Gargash was unambiguous: the waterway must retain its original status as a conduit for the free flow of energy, trade and international navigation. Any attempt to alter that nature, he warned, would set a dangerous precedent not only for the Gulf but for every strategic maritime chokepoint on the planet. The logic is straightforward — if Hormuz can be weaponised, so can the Malacca Strait, the Bab-el-Mandeb, or the Turkish Straits.

He directed particular attention to Europe, reminding the Prague audience that the crisis is not a distant regional affair. It is already reverberating through energy markets and eroding global investor confidence. Critically, he stressed that the European Maritime Initiative must move beyond its current framework status and translate into practical, operational implementation. “We cannot wait for the war to end,” he said — a phrase that encapsulated the urgency running through his entire address.

Iran: Neighbour and Threat — Without Illusion or Naivety

Dr. Gargash framed Iran with the kind of dual-register clarity that defines mature statecraft. Iran is a threat — the Gulf states are unified in recognising this, particularly in the aftermath of Iranian attacks. But Iran is also a neighbour, and that geographic reality is permanent. The response, therefore, must be firm without illusion and open to diplomacy without naivety.

The Emirati position rejects both appeasement and maximalist confrontation. Dr. Gargash called for an agreement anchored in the full spectrum of concerns — nuclear, conventional and behavioural — while explicitly noting that Iran’s internal political challenges are a matter for the Iranian people alone to resolve. This is a subtle but significant boundary: the UAE is not seeking regime change; it is seeking verifiable behavioural change.

UAE Resilience: 3,000 Attacks, Society Near Normal

One of the most striking passages of the address was Dr. Gargash’s account of UAE resilience. He revealed that the country has absorbed more than 3,000 Iranian attacks, managed through a multi-layered defence system that allowed only a very small percentage to penetrate. The figure is extraordinary, and the context even more so: despite these pressures, the UAE remained close to normal — its tourism and travel sectors facing natural headwinds, but its social fabric intact and its economic fundamentals strong.

This is not merely a military statistic. It is a statement about the depth of institutional confidence the UAE has built over decades — a society that can absorb kinetic pressure without fracturing. The multi-layered defence architecture, built through partnerships with the United States and other allies, represents one of the most advanced integrated air defence systems in the region.

Energy Policy: Resilience Beyond Quota Considerations

On energy, Dr. Gargash was careful to project both stability and strategic depth. The UAE’s oil production policy has been carefully studied, he explained — resilience is built in well beyond OPEC quota considerations, with genuine capacity to produce more when global markets require it. But the more significant point, he emphasised, is what happens to energy revenues: they are systematically reinvested into diversification, technology, infrastructure and long-term competitiveness. The UAE is not simply a petro-state protecting its rents; it is a post-oil economy in construction.

The United States: More Central, Not Less

Contrary to narratives suggesting US retrenchment from the Middle East, Dr. Gargash offered a notably different picture. The United States, he said, has become more central to the region through deepening defence partnerships and a broadening of cooperation into the economy and technology sectors. This framing — the US as a more engaged, not less engaged, partner — is significant diplomatic signalling, particularly in a European forum where questions about American reliability have become perennial.

A Distinctly UAE Message

The Prague address amounted to a concise foreign policy statement from the UAE: clarity on the Iranian threat, confidence in national resilience, genuine openness to diplomacy, and a commitment to active, pragmatic and principled statecraft. It was a message calibrated for a European audience that needs to understand the Gulf’s stakes — and for an international community that must decide whether to wait for escalation or invest in prevention.

As Dr. Aldhaheri noted in summarising the session, it was “a distinctly UAE message” — and one that cut through the noise of a region where voices often choose either pure confrontation or pure accommodation. The Emirati position, articulated with characteristic precision by Dr. Gargash, charts a third path: principled, resilient, and relentlessly strategic.