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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stated that it will not take part in any military action against Iran, while criticising what it described as unjustified attacks on its territory, in the ongoing regional conflict.
Speaking in Geneva on Monday, the UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations, Jamal Al Musharakh, said the country had no intention of being drawn into the war.
He explained that the UAE had consistently made it clear that its territory would not be used to launch attacks against Iran and that the country had no plans to participate in such operations.
The ambassador also rejected suggestions that UAE military bases were being used to strike Iran.
“The UAE does not seek to be drawn into conflict or escalation.
“We’ve been very clear before and leading up to the current events we are witnessing in the region that as the UAE we will not partake in any attacks against Iran from our territory, and that we will not be involved in such a conflict,” he told the UN correspondents’ association ACANU.
“Our bases are not being used to attack Iran,”he added.
Musharakh said the UAE had repeatedly advocated dialogue and diplomacy as the best path to resolving tensions in the region, calling for parties involved in the conflict to return to negotiations.
According to Musharakh, the UAE has faced more than 1,400 attacks since the conflict began, involving cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones.
He said most of the attacks had been intercepted by the country’s armed forces.
He added that strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, including desalination and energy facilities, were unacceptable and had resulted in casualties.
The ambassador stated that four civilians had been killed and more than 100 others had sustained minor injuries in the attacks.
Musharakh stressed that the UAE and other Gulf states were not parties to the conflict and argued there was no legal justification for targeting countries not directly involved in hostilities.
“Tragically, these attacks have resulted in four civilian fatalities, as well as 114 minor injuries,” the ambassador said.
“The UAE and other Gulf countries are not parties to the conflict… There is no legal basis for targeting third-party states that are not involved in hostilities.”
His remarks followed an apology issued by Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to neighbouring countries for strikes carried out during the war.
However, Musharakh said the reality on the ground showed that the UAE was still being targeted, despite not participating in the conflict.
The remarks also came after the United States and Iran held indirect talks mediated by Oman in Geneva on February 26 over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Two days later, the United States and Israel launched the first wave of attacks in a conflict that has since seen Iran strike targets across several Gulf countries, including the UAE.
