The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the United States and other allies open the key Strait of Hormuz waterway by force, the Wall Street Journal said yesterday, citing Arab officials.
Officials told the WSJ that the UAE is lobbying for a UN Security Council resolution authorizing such a force, adding that diplomats have urged the US and various European and Asian nations to form a united front against Iran and to open the strait by force.
One UAE official added that the nation had already conducted an internal assessment of its capabilities to help secure the strait, including its ability to clear mines.
This follows a Monday Associated Press report claiming that the Gulf States have recently asked US President Donald Trump to continue the attacks against Iran until the Islamic regime ceases to be a threat to the region
The report also noted that while there is consensus among the Gulf States in support of Operation Epic Fury, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are currently leading efforts to increase military pressure on Tehran.
According to Gulf and Israeli officials cited by AP, the Gulf States believe that Iran hasn’t been weakened enough yet, almost a month after the bombing campaign against Iranian military assets began.
Gulf officials were especially insistent that the current situation offers a key opportunity to take out the Iranian regime, even after being hesitant during the begining of the war due to the short notice that they received prior to the Israeli and American joint strike.
Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said yesterday that the end of the war with Iran could be near, signaling potential for both direct talks with Tehran’s leadership and a winding down of the conflict even without a deal.
The remarks underscored Washington’s shifting and at times contradictory statements about when and how a war that has killed thousands, spread across the region, and caused unprecedented energy disruption might end.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” Trump told reporters, saying that could be “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.”
“Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said, when asked if successful diplomacy was a prerequisite for the US to end Operation Epic Fury.
Israel and the US launched Operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury on February 28, with the stated aim of creating conditions for regime change.
Iran retaliated by firing across the Middle East at Gulf nations and US military bases in the region.
Nine IDF soldiers and 22 civilians have been killed, and at least 6,131 more injured in ballistic missile attacks across Israel since February 28.
