This week, the United Arab Emirates and Iran held the first face-to-face meeting between national security officials since the start of the war between the US, Israel and Tehranaccording to people with knowledge of the matter.
The meeting represents an important change in the stance of both sides and reflects a growing recognition that a less tense bilateral relationship has become necessary, said the sources, who requested anonymity because they are sensitive negotiations.
On the UAE side, the objective is to prevent military escalation from compromising ambitious economic plans, such as billion-dollar investments in expanding oil production and in data centers linked to artificial intelligence. For Iran, the relationship is also relevant: before the war, the Emirates were among the Islamic Republic’s main trading partners and served as an important route for the flow of Iranian oil under sanctions.
According to the sources, Abu Dhabi’s new contact with Tehran was mainly motivated by the UAE’s attempt to seek a détente with a regime that it considers an enemy, but which it believes cannot be removed from power.
Since the war began in late February, Iran has attacked the UAE more than any other country. Abu Dhabi responded on several occasions and adopted the toughest stance among its Arab neighbors towards the Islamic Republic. Now, however, the UAE appears to be following the path of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which were also hit by Iran and allied groups, but have started to rely on diplomacy to try to reduce tension.
Riyadh, which had energy installations and military bases hit, resumed contact with Tehran at the foreign minister level in early April. Qatar, the target of a major attack on the Ras Laffan natural gas installation, has been the most active in trying to achieve rapprochement. The country received an Iranian delegation at the end of last month and has been expanding its role as mediator between Washington and Tehran.
The three Arab countries know that they need to live with a neighbor on the other side of the Persian Gulf that has 90 million inhabitants and relevant military weight, even after the damage caused by US and Israeli bombings.
The Iranian attacks have put the rise of Dubai and Abu Dhabi as hubs for hedge funds and other financial institutions at risk. The conflict has also affected oil sales and tourism, two pillars of the Emirati economy.
One of the sources said this week’s meeting was the result of several attempts by Iran to re-establish high-level dialogue with Abu Dhabi. The UAE had been resisting, this person said, until it was certain that interlocutors had direct access to the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Several Iranian leaders, including Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba’s predecessor and father, died in the war. The US has already stated that it is difficult to know clearly who is in charge now.
The only other known contact between the UAE and Iran during the war came in mid-April, shortly after a ceasefire. On the occasion, the Vice President of the Emirates, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, spoke with the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, about ways to ease regional tension.
After that call and a visit by the UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, a communication channel was opened, one of the sources said.
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The UAE’s foreign policy is guided by the search for decompression and the reduction of tensions in the Middle East, in addition to the defense of lasting peace and greater stability, an official told Bloomberg, on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules.
According to this source, the Emirates supports efforts — including those of the United States — to protect the region’s population from the effects of the war.
This week’s meeting reinforces a new inflection in Abu Dhabi’s stance. In late May, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed joined the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia in calling on US President Donald Trump not to resume large-scale hostilities against Iran and to give negotiations one more chance.
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Since the start of the war between the US, Israel and Iran, Tehran has launched almost 3 thousand missiles and drones against the Emirates. The vast majority were intercepted by an advanced defense system, with support from allies such as the USA, United Kingdom, France and Israel. Still, at least 13 people diedand oil and gas facilities, ports and hotels suffered billions of dollars in damage.
The Emirati leadership has treated Iranian attacks — including the bombing of the Barakah nuclear plant west of Abu Dhabi last month by Tehran-backed Iraqi militias — as unprovoked acts of terrorism.
This led the country to take a harder line at the start of the war. In addition to the attacks against Iran, Abu Dhabi tried unsuccessfully to convince Saudi Arabia and Qatar to mount a joint response to contain Tehran, according to Bloomberg News.
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But the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the fragility of the ceasefire since early April and the slow progress of US-Iran talks have changed Abu Dhabi’s calculus, the sources said. At this time, the UAE’s priority is to limit further damage and avoid further disruption to the country’s economy and security.
There are signs that the strategy may be having an effect. Iran has not attacked the Emirates again since the bombing of the Barakah plant. This week, with the intensification of clashes between the US and Iran, Tehran began targeting Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
On Thursday, Trump said he would attack Iran for the third night in a row, amid frustration over the failure of attempts to reach an agreement.
The UAE maintained diplomatic relations with Iran, but closed several social, medical and educational institutions linked to the Islamic Republic on its territory. They also canceled residency visas for some Iranians, even though they still house hundreds of thousands of them.
Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to the Emirati leader, has repeatedly said that trust with Iran has been broken. According to him, any effective resumption of the relationship depends on the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the payment of reparations by Tehran. The UAE also defends that a possible agreement between the US and Iran includes the Iranian nuclear program, ballistic missiles and support for militias in the region.
Although Trump wants to contain Iran’s nuclear program, the United States appears increasingly inclined to leave militias and ballistic missiles out of any peace deal.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
