As negotiations between the US and Iran are stalled, a report in the Telegraph is stirring the pot, as officials from Donald Trump are said to be urging the United Arab Emirates to seize an Iranian island, Lavan.
Specifically, a report in Britain’s Telegraph newspaper says Trump administration officials are encouraging the United Arab Emirates to become more actively involved in the war with Iran and to seize one of Tehran’s islands in the Gulf. This is the island of Lavan, which, according to the British newspaper, was reportedly subjected to secret military strikes by the United Arab Emirates in early April.
“Go get them!,” the official reportedly said. “There will be UAE boots on the ground instead of US boots,” he added. The new information comes amid revelations about the United Arab Emirates’ growing involvement in the 11-week-old conflict and strengthening relations with Israel.
Analysts believe Iran’s war and fierce bombing of the Gulf state are accelerating a dramatic realignment in the Middle East, with rival geopolitical axes forming. The United Arab Emirates has borne the brunt of Iranian retaliation since Israel and the United States began striking Iran in late February.
The response to the Iranian attacks has been a defining moment for the United Arab Emirates, forcing the kingdom to rethink its defenses, as well as its alliances and position in the world.
As a result, the United Arab Emirates has further strengthened its relations with the United States and Israel, at a time when its relations with neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, are being tested. Instead of the war bringing the two Gulf countries closer together, it seems to have deepened the rift between them.
Remember, in early May, the United Arab Emirates also decided to withdraw from OPEC, the oil-producing countries’ organization led by Saudi Arabia.
“The longer this situation goes on, the more time they have to reflect on their place in the world, their place in the Gulf, who is a friend and who is not,” Barbara Leaf, former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, told the New York Times. “They now see things in very hard terms: friend or foe,” she concluded.
