{"id":267795,"date":"2026-08-28T05:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/267795\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T05:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:14:10","slug":"the-uaes-footprint-in-the-strait-of-hormuz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/267795\/","title":{"rendered":"The UAE\u2019s Footprint in the Strait of Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Islam Times – An informed Emirati official told Nournews that Trump\u2019s August 17 threat against Oman came after a phone call with Mohammed bin Zayed\u2014a narrative that, alongside the Manama meeting and a Wall Street Journal report, sheds light on Abu Dhabi\u2019s efforts to expand its influence over the Strait of Hormuz and pressure Oman.On August 17, in an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump threatened Oman with U.S. bombing if it \u201cgets in the way\u201d of an agreement, in response to a question about Iran-Oman talks over arrangements for transit through and management of the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came as Tehran and Muscat, after weeks of negotiations over a framework for the passage of vessels through Hormuz, had reached an initial understanding and were finalizing a joint statement.<\/p>\n

An informed Emirati source told Nournews that behind Trump\u2019s tough stance was direct coordination between Abu Dhabi and Washington.<\/p>\n

According to the source, Mohammed bin Zayed had spoken by phone with the U.S. president several hours before Trump\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

What Was Discussed in the bin Zayed-Trump Call?<\/p>\n

One adviser to the White House communications director who was briefed on the call said bin Zayed\u2019s conversation with Trump lasted 23 minutes. During the middle of the call, he reportedly stood up and shouted: \u201cThe Omanis still haven\u2019t figured out that it\u2019s been two years since sleepy Joe Biden and his bunch of idiots were throwing America\u2019s interests away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that several hours later, Witkoff admitted in a conversation with one of his advisers that bin Zayed\u2019s remarks had angered Trump at the Omanis. According to the Witkoff adviser, bin Zayed had suggested to Trump that the reason for Iran\u2019s tough stance over the Strait of Hormuz was Oman\u2019s \u201cgreed\u201d\u2014that Muscat was seeking, in collusion with Iran, to elevate itself to the level of a rival to the UAE.<\/p>\n

Trump is also said to have adopted a threatening tone toward Oman on May 27 after receiving a call from a senior Emirati official.<\/p>\n

June 17 Manama Meeting: \u201cAnother Oman\u201d in the Region<\/p>\n

This account should be considered alongside the events surrounding the June 17 meeting in Manama, held one day before the signing of the Iran-U.S. memorandum of understanding. According to informed Bahraini sources, Mohammed bin Zayed, CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper, and a senior Mossad adviser attended the meeting, while Marco Rubio participated online.<\/p>\n

The main issue was concern over the consolidation of the Iran-U.S. understanding and its implications for the security arrangements surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Activating a \u201csouthern route\u201d by pressuring Oman and using CENTCOM\u2019s military capabilities was also discussed.<\/p>\n

But the most sensitive part of the meeting was bin Zayed\u2019s position on Omani and Qatari mediation. Bahraini sources say he described Qatar\u2019s involvement in the mediation process as \u201csheer stupidity\u201d and warned Witkoff: \u201cBe careful not to create another Oman in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

These remarks indicate that Abu Dhabi\u2019s concern over Oman\u2019s growing role in regional affairs and the Strait of Hormuz predates Trump\u2019s threat.<\/p>\n

The Wall Street Journal Corroboration<\/p>\n

The account also appears to be consistent with a report by the Wall Street Journal. On August 2, the newspaper reported that while Saudi Arabia was urging Trump to exercise restraint and avoid escalating the confrontation with Iran, the UAE was calling for \u201cmore decisive action\u201d by the United States against Iran.<\/p>\n

According to the Wall Street Journal, Emirati officials had even raised options including U.S. control of the Strait of Hormuz and the possibility of ground operations.<\/p>\n

From this perspective, Hormuz is not simply a question of whether a waterway remains open or closed. The central question is: once the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, who will set the rules of the game?<\/p>\n

For Oman, Hormuz is not only geographically significant; it is also central to the country\u2019s role as a mediator between Iran and the West. For the UAE, meanwhile, an expanded Omani role could mean a shift in the balance of influence in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi\u2019s Ambitions and Its Growing Rift with Arab States<\/p>\n

The UAE\u2019s alleged efforts to undermine and spread negative narratives about other Persian Gulf Arab states have reportedly caused serious resentment in Oman, Qatar, and even Saudi Arabia. At internal meetings of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League, the UAE is reportedly referred to as an Israeli proxy.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the GCC and the Arab League say Emirati diplomats have increasingly complained about what they view as inappropriate treatment by other Arab countries.<\/p>\n

At one meeting of Emirati ministers, Anwar Gargash reportedly said: \u201cSaudi diplomats treat us like lepers. They keep their distance from us and think they are superior to us, even though we know this behavior stems from jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, Trump\u2019s threat against Oman can be viewed within the broader context of Abu Dhabi\u2019s ambitions to expand its influence over the Persian Gulf\u2019s security and maritime arrangements and its efforts to constrain the role of countries such as Oman and Qatar\u2014a process that, if the sources\u2019 information is accurate, has been accompanied by growing coordination and alignment between Abu Dhabi, Washington, and Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

In this context, Hormuz is more than just a strategic strait. It is an arena in which Abu Dhabi is seeking a greater share of the regional power equation by applying pressure on Iran, weakening the role of regional mediators, and moving closer to the United States and Israel. \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Islam Times – An informed Emirati official told Nournews that Trump\u2019s August 17 threat against Oman came after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[33157,605,59514,8849,606,38608,3758,592,42008,35738,2860,73363,73366,20899,60119,8946,73361,102,595,46914,43971,598,7223,13514,15189,3921,12613,35737,43975,73362,591,2861,181,3852,7660,39,3605,12305,7952,73365,1219,2962,608,596,6933,599,603,23992,7587,73360,13513,3892,73364],"class_list":["post-267795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-persian-gulf","tag-33157","tag-a","tag-abu","tag-after","tag-against","tag-alongside","tag-an","tag-and","tag-august","tag-bin","tag-call","tag-came","tag-dhabis","tag-efforts","tag-emirati","tag-expand","tag-footprint","tag-hormuz","tag-in","tag-influence","tag-informed","tag-islam","tag-its","tag-journal","tag-light","tag-manama","tag-meeting","tag-mohammed","tag-narrative","tag-nournews","tag-of","tag-official","tag-oman","tag-on","tag-over","tag-persian-gulf","tag-phone","tag-pressure","tag-report","tag-sheds","tag-strait","tag-street","tag-that","tag-the","tag-threat","tag-times","tag-to","tag-told","tag-trumps","tag-uaes","tag-wall","tag-with","tag-zayed-a"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117171432197018357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}