UAE adviser says Hormuz control in Iran’s hands would set dangerous precedent
A senior adviser to the UAE president warned that any Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz would set a serious precedent and risk being politicized by Tehran.
“Any control over the Strait of Hormuz will set a serious precedent,” Anwar Gargash said, adding that it would be “politicized in Iran’s hands.”
Gargash said any change in the strait would have serious consequences, including for Europe, because of the waterway’s role in energy and trade.
Gargash said the UAE had learned that Iran was capable of using “any weapon that it has in its hand,” and that Iran’s nuclear program had moved from being the UAE’s “second or third worry” to its first.
He said another round of fighting between the United States and Iran would “only complicate things,” adding that the UAE wanted a political solution but was concerned any deal could create new complications in the region.
“Finding a diplomatic way forward is important,” he said. “It should not be at the expense of creating further complications in the future.”
He also said the United States had become more central to every Persian Gulf country’s calculations, calling the link with Washington “a spinal cord” in national defense.
On Europe’s role, Gargash said any European initiative on Hormuz was designed to take effect only once the conflict was over, but said it remained unclear what it would do after that point.
He added that the UAE was losing out under OPEC production limits and had been thinking for three years about leaving the group, saying the country sees itself close to “the autumn of the hydrocarbon age” and wants to use its production capacity while it still can.
