Two recent incidents have reignited the Islamic Republic of Iran’s diplomatic offensive against the United Arab Emirates. First, on September 25, 2026, Emirati official Reem Ibrahim al Hashimi renewed her government’s claims to three Persian Gulf islands under Iranian control.
Iran’s Assistant Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib-Abadi responded that the Greater and Lesser Tonb Islands and Abu Musa are “an inseparable part of Iran’s realm” and advised that the Emiratis instead should “show commitment to neighborly goodwill and accept the region’s historical and legal realities.”
On September 28, 2026, Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed confirmed that, at his invitation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had traveled to Abu Dhabi.
This is a sensitive topic that even the regime opposition does not accept. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi seized the islands in 1971, as the British withdrew. His exiled son, Reza Pahlavi, has reiterated Iran’s sovereignty over them, instead criticizing the regime for risking their loss through weakness. The regime, meanwhile, has viewed claims over them as an opportunity to defend Iranian nationalism to legitimize itself. This tactic had diminishing returns before the recent war, but the regime’s success during the war has given it a new lifeline.
Then on September 28, 2026, Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed confirmed that, at his invitation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had traveled to Abu Dhabi. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, warning that “all countries of the region should be careful about the consequences of such trips that threaten the collective peace and security of the region.”
The regime media joined the campaign. Nour News, close to the Supreme National Security Council, published multiple editorials against the United Arab Emirates. One cited Israel’s deployment of the Iron Dome to the Emirates as evidence that “Abu Dhabi today is not merely Iran’s southern neighbor; it is a country that, at the most sensitive juncture, has escalated its cooperation with Iran’s principal adversary to a overt and operational level.” It referred to the Emirates as a military dimension of “the enemy,” which has “frankly talked about political change in Iran.” Other outlets also made the same point, even calling the United Arab Emirates a “legitimate target.”
Another essay called the Emirates “hypocritical” for talking about regional stability while undermining stability by hosting Netanyahu. It concluded, “If Abu Dhabi truly wants stability, the path will … lead to a change in behavior, acceptance of the region’s new realities, and participation in local security mechanisms,” meaning, a regional order that excludes America and Israel.
Such accusations that others are destabilizing the region are common in Iranian public statements and media, and they are revealing. In Tehran’s eyes, U.S. and Israeli presence in the region is destabilizing, while it views its foreign policy as the natural reaction to such imperial and colonial projects.
Reformist journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi, who spent years in prison after the 2009 Green Movement, reacted similarly. He warned of “the Netanyahu gang’s secret and conspiratorial plots against Iran” but suggested a softer diplomatic tone, domestic unity, and statecraft to fend them off.
Such accusations that others are destabilizing the region are common in Iranian public statements and media, and they are revealing.
On October 3, 2026, the Islamic Republic News Agency published an interview with Hadi Borhani, a University of Tehran professor, about the same issue. Borhani called the United Arab Emirates “Israel’s gate into the Arab and Islamic world” and opined that “collaborating with Israel will make the Emirates more vulnerable during a possible crisis.” He contrasted Abu Dhabi with Amman, Cairo, and Riyadh, which have been more critical of Jerusalem in recent years, despite the first two’s formal relations with the Jewish state.
Former foreign minister and longtime adviser to Ali Khamenei and, in theory, Mojtaba Khamenei as well, Ali-Akbar Velayati linked the two controversies: “A country, whose political age does not reach half a century, claims the islands which in previous centuries’ documents and maps are recorded as Iran’s from the United Nations tribune.”
It increasingly appears that Iran’s relationship with the Emirates is reaching a point of no return, deteriorating even more than when Iran launched rocket and drone attacks during the war. Whereas once Tehran treated Abu Dhabi and Dubai cautiously because of significant Iranian investment in both cities, today Iranian statements suggest ideological hostility will trump pragmatism. In practice, this means Abu Dhabi should prepare itself for greater attacks in future conflicts as Iran treats the United Arab Emirates more like Israel and less like other Arab states.
