UAE Looks to Qatar Mediation as Gulf Officials Warn Against New Iran Conflict

The United Arab Emirates is looking to Qatar-led mediation to avert another confrontation between the United States and Iran, a senior adviser said November 1, as regional officials warned that renewed fighting could deepen an already costly security crisis.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s presidential adviser, told the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that the region did not want another round of war. Military action, he said, would complicate the situation rather than offer a quick exit.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country’s negotiators were in Qatar discussing a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He said the process did not involve direct talks with Washington and depended on U.S. responses to questions raised by Iran.

The statements pointed to active mediation, but neither official announced an agreement or a date for restoring normal passage through the waterway.

Diplomacy Advances Against Threat of Escalation

In an interview shared through his Telegram channel, Araghchi said Iran hoped Washington would choose diplomacy. He also said Tehran was prepared to defend itself, tying the path forward to U.S. decisions.

Gargash acknowledged that the two governments’ positions remained far apart. He said the region had to prepare for the possibility that efforts to bridge them would fail.

“If these positions are not bridged, then we have to worry about the worst,” he told the forum, according to AP.

The annual gathering brings defense, foreign-affairs and other officials together with security specialists. This year’s discussions took place after months of conflict, attacks on infrastructure and expensive efforts to reinforce defenses.

Gulf States Count the Cost of Earlier Attacks

The war began February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes, followed by Iranian attacks on Gulf nations. An April ceasefire halted that phase of fighting, but officials at the Bahrain forum said the risk had not disappeared.

The UAE faced more than 3,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks before the ceasefire, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organizes the dialogue. Most were intercepted. Targets included airports, military sites and oil facilities.

Bahrain faced approximately 500 drones and nearly 200 ballistic missiles, IISS said. Strikes hit the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet base, residential buildings, the financial district and a desalination plant.

Gargash said Gulf governments had since spent billions strengthening defenses. He also said the conflict had made the UAE’s relationship with the United States more important to its security.

Bahrain Sees Continuing Threats to Infrastructure

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani welcomed efforts to reduce tension but accused Iran of a continuing pattern of attacks or threats against sea, air and data infrastructure.

He cited threats to underwater data cables and attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have described their recent strikes as retaliation for Saudi attacks on Sanaa airport, AP reported.

Those competing accounts form the backdrop to the Qatar discussions. The immediate diplomatic question is whether an arrangement over Hormuz can narrow the wider confrontation without another round of attacks.

Gargash said neither Iran nor its neighbors would benefit from renewed war. His warning was paired with a narrower opening: negotiators were talking, even as the principal governments remained far from agreement.

References: United Arab Emirates says military solutions offer no quick off-ramps to crisis with Iran