UAE envoy to UN urges de-escalation of US-Israeli war with Iran
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Smoke rising from a fire on March 3 in the UAE's Fujairah oil industry zone, following the interception of a drone by air defences.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- UAE calls for "de-escalation" of the US-Israeli war with Iran and a return to negotiations, according to Ambassador Jamal Jama al Musharakh.
- Iran has launched over 1,400 attacks on the UAE, killing four civilians and injuring 114, targeting civilian infrastructure like desalination plants.
- Despite being targeted, the UAE will not allow its bases to be used for attacks against Iran, though it will protect vital locations.
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GENEVA - The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on March 9 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 Feb 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.”
US officials mainly say Washington’s aim is to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear programme.
President Donald Trump said on March 7 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. REUTERS
