A senior Emirati official has claimed a resounding victory for the UAE in the wake of the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, declaring that his country had triumphed against Iranian aggression it never wanted to face in the first place.
The UAE emerges from the conflict in a stronger position than it entered © X
A senior Emirati official has claimed a resounding victory for the UAE in the wake of the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, declaring that his country had triumphed against Iranian aggression it never wanted to face in the first place.
Presidential adviser Anwar Gargash made the declaration on X, writing that the Emirates had "won a victory in a war we sincerely sought to avoid" and had "triumphed against brutal aggression." The tone was unambiguous, defiant, proud, and pointed directly at Tehran.
But Gargash's message went beyond celebration. He signalled that the UAE emerges from the conflict in a stronger position than it entered, with what he described as greater capital, deeper regional knowledge, and an enhanced capacity to shape the Middle East's future. In short: Abu Dhabi is not just relieved the fighting has stopped, it believes the crisis has made it more powerful.
The statement reflects a broader shift in Gulf dynamics. For weeks, the UAE absorbed Iranian pressure while publicly pushing for de-escalation.
Now, with a ceasefire in place, it is positioning itself not as a victim of the conflict but as one of its quiet winners, a state that held its ground, kept its alliances intact, and comes out the other side with more leverage than before.
By Mariam Al Mualla
The United States expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead in Pakistan and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles and uncertainty remained as the end of a ceasefire loomed.
Ships were largely avoiding the Strait of Hormuz on Monday after an escalation at the weekend in which Iran fired what appeared to be warning shots at vessels and the U.S. military seized an Iranian cargo ship.
In a characteristically combative post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump has pushed back against media narratives surrounding the conflict with Iran, while doubling down on his conviction that Tehran must never acquire a nuclear weapon and openly calling for regime change.
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