UAE "Expecting a breakthrough in US-Iran negotiations...preparing for the worst situation"

(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = With the United States and Iran standing at a crossroads between armed conflict or resumption of negotiations, a senior official from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that while they are hoping for a breakthrough in negotiations, they are also preparing for the worst.

According to AFP on the 1st (local time), Anwar Gargash, Advisor to the UAE President for Foreign Affairs, attended a conference held in Manama, Bahrain and said, "We are hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough."

“It is not in the interests of this region to go through another war,” he said, adding, “But we are preparing for the worst possible situation, just like in the past.”

Qatar, a mediating country, recently sent a delegation to Iran to discuss the issue of resuming peace negotiations between the United States and Iran, and Iran is also sending a special envoy to Qatar to continue discussions at the level of indirect negotiations with the United States for an end to the war, leading to an intense behind-the-scenes diplomatic battle.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to resume military operations the day before, saying the U.S. still had to deal with one or two targets in Iran.

The Iranian military also issued a warning message saying that if the U.S. attack resumes, a new war will last for a long time and that it is prepared to strike U.S. assets outside West Asia.

Donald Blom, the U.S. State Department's Near East director, warned at the Manama conference that day, "We can never allow Iran to hold the Middle East region and the global economy hostage."

“We have extended our hand to negotiations and those channels remain open and active,” Blom said, adding, “At the same time, we are ready to move in the other direction (military response).”

In relation to this, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the day before that President Trump has not yet made a decision on a new strike against Iran and that the U.S. is open to a diplomatic solution.