Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the President of the UAE, stressed that rebuilding the relationship with Iran is possible, but rebuilding trust is difficult to achieve, noting that the Gulf states succeeded in confronting Iranian attacks individually but “did not rise to the scale of the challenge” collectively, pointing out that the UAE has already begun to develop alternative shipping routes and expand the capacity of the ports of the East Coast to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
Gargash said, in his speech within the “Hailey Forum 2026”: “This war has produced a region that is more complex and more ambiguous than the one before it... We are still in a volatile and transitional stage and we may need some time to fully understand the consequences of the war, but I have little doubt that we are facing a more complex Gulf and a region with greater challenges.”
The UAE presidential advisor added: “In this new regional environment, strategic independence is not just a slogan but a rational political choice, a choice based on the tangible results it achieves that serve our security and national interest.”
Gargash continued: “For us, strategic independence means the ability to keep our economy growing, our people safe, and the independence of our decisions.”
He added: “We have already begun to respond to the initial lessons learned from this crisis. We are actively working to expand port capacities along our eastern coast, along with developing the pipelines, rail networks and commercial infrastructure needed to connect them, and alternative corridors for freight traffic are being developed and strengthened.”
“Neither our energy exports nor our trade and economic activity will be taken hostage,” Gargash stressed.
Gargash continued: "Dealing with Iran remains an essential matter not only for the Emirates but for all Gulf states. Iran remains our neighbor, and at some point, we must find a way to restore what can be restored (in relations between the two countries), as geography leaves us no choice but to communicate."
He added, "But we must differentiate between rebuilding a necessary and functional relationship with Iran and rebuilding trust that has already been broken. The first is necessary, but the second will be much more difficult."
Gargash added: “We must remember what happened; Iran launched thousands of missiles and drones at the UAE and other countries in the Gulf region and the wider region, countries that had not taken the initiative to attack them. This decision was not the result of 24 or 48 hours, nor was it an impulsive reaction, but rather it was a deliberate and chosen war launched against neighbors, in flagrant violation of international law. It also represented, in my view, a miserable failure on the part of At the levels of strategy and state administration, Iran destroyed, within a few weeks, bridges of relations with its Gulf neighbors that had taken decades to build.”
Regarding the Arab, regional and international responses, Gargash said: “It is also important to look critically at the Arab, regional and international responses to the crisis, as these responses - in their entirety - were characterized by ineffectiveness and were below the expected level, whether in terms of preventing war, protecting the flow of energy and maritime trade, or containing a crisis that began with the war in Gaza and then expanded far beyond that.”
Regarding the Gulf position, Gargash said: “However, it is important to look honestly at the response of the Gulf states themselves. A region that is unable to accurately assess its situation has little chance of correcting its course. We have shown - individually - strength and determination in responding to Iran’s attacks, but what succeeded with great effectiveness at the national level has not been translated with the same effectiveness at the regional level. This does not mean the absence of fundamental cooperation between the Gulf states and the countries of the region; cooperation was present and important, but I do not believe that we We have risen - collectively and strategically - to the level and scale of the threat, as the Gulf states did after the invasion of Kuwait or when facing the unrest of the (Arab Spring).”
Gargash said: “We have agreed - broadly and for many years - on the nature of the challenge posed by Iran, so the problem was not a lack of understanding, but rather our failure in confronting this historic challenge was the inability to translate that common understanding into a strategic response characterized by sufficient unity.”
