UAE says 'will not partake in any attacks' on Iran, urges de-escalation

The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on Monday ‌for a de-escalation of the US-Israeli war with Iran ​and a ⁠return to negotiations.

Oil prices have surged as ‌some major producers ‌cut supplies and stock markets have gone into a nosedive since the war began on February 28, and Iran has ‌fired on Gulf states that host US military bases, causing ⁠travel and business disruptions.

"De-escalation, de-escalation, de-escalation. This is a standing position we have, and we will continue to offer that," Ambassador Jamal Jama al Musharakh told reporters in Geneva.

The UAE is among the six Gulf states ​that have been subjected to Iranian drone and missile ‌strikes since the war began.

There have been more than 1,400 attacks on the UAE in recent days that killed ⁠four civilians and injured 114 others, the ambassador said.

The targeting by Iran of UAE civilian infrastructure, including desalination plants and energy ​facilities, was ‌of concern and unacceptable, the envoy said.

"We are also ‌fully prepared to protect these vital locations," he added.

But UAE bases would not be used for attacks against Iran, ‌he said, despite his ‌country being targeted in ⁠an "unwarranted manner."

The UAE stressed it would "not partake in any attacks against Iran."

"We've been very clear before and leading up to the current events we are witnessing in the region that as the UAE we will not partake in any attacks against Iran from our territory, and that we will not be involved in such a conflict," Al Musharakh told reporters.

US officials mainly say Washington's aim is ‌to destroy Iran's missile capabilities and nuclear programme.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was not interested ⁠in negotiations with Tehran and suggested ​the war would end only when Iran no longer had a functioning military or leadership in power.

Agence France-Presse