ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the US-led coalition to protect Persian Gulf navigation, just one day after Saudi Arabia joined the alliance aimed at protecting maritime interests amid heightened tensions with Iran. The UAE said on Thursday that it would join the coalition, officially named the International Maritime Security Construct, to guarantee the security of oil shipments in the region in order to maintain the global economy. “UAE will be part of the US-led coalition to protect the navigation of oil shipments,” said Salim al-Zuubi, the Director of the Security Cooperation Department at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement. “UAE and the coalition both aim to provide protection for the oil movement in the region in order to sustain the global economy.” Tensions are high in the Middle East following Saturday’s attacks on Saudi oil installations, for which Saudi Arabia blamed Iran, this week. Saudi Arabia announced that they were joining the coalition on Wednesday following the drone and missile attacks on the oil installations belonging to Aramco. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have fought a five-year war with the Saudi-led coalition, claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki cast doubt on the claim that drones or cruise missiles thought to have been used in the attack could have reached the facility from Yemen, calling this a “false narrative” in a press briefing on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia claimed that the missiles and drones used in the attack were Iranian. They said an Iranian-made delta-wing UAV drone and a “Ya Ali” cruise missile were part of the operation. US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has demanded the US treasury department to impose a new wave of harsh sanctions on Iran within 48 hours as a response to the Aramco attacks. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called the attacks an “act of war,” and said Saudi Arabia has a “right to defend itself.” Many countries around the world are currently considering the American request to join the naval coalition. Washington has sent official invitations to more than 60 nations. The current tensions in the Persian Gulf date back to last year when Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran. This prompted Tehran to suspend some of its commitments under the deal, creating fears amongst the remaining European parties to the deal that the landmark agreement could fall apart. There were a series of attacks on oil vessels in the Persian Gulf in May and June this year, creating fears for the freedom of navigation in the strategic waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the US to start the coalition in August. The US, UK and their regional allies accuse Iran of fomenting tension in the region, but Tehran denies this, saying that the existence of American forces in the area is the source of instability. Bahrain was the first Arab country to join the US-led alliance, which includes now includes the US, the UK, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
Middle East02-07-2026Iran criticizes US-led regional defense meeting, claims authority over Hormuz as talks stall
