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Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s haven status tested by Middle East crisis

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This picture shows the Dubai skyline as a yacht sails past on June 11, 2025. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP)

In Dubai, bankers were quick to relay optimism that the UAE would sidestep any major fallout. 

PHOTO: AFP

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The United Arab Emirates has managed to thrive during global instability, drawing capital during the Arab Spring, opening up quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and attracting Russian money after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. 

But the

Iran-Israel confrontation

, which involved the US, poses one of the most stringent tests yet to the country’s neutral and open-for-business stance. 

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