The United Arab Emirates is preparing to join a US-led military effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force and is lobbying for a UN Security Council resolution to authorize such action, Arab officials told The Wall Street Journal. Emirati diplomats have approached military powers in the US, Europe, and Asia, urging the formation of a coalition to clear the strait, according to a UAE official cited by the Journal.
The UAE is "actively reviewing how it could play a military role in securing the strait, including efforts to help clear it of mines and other support services," a UAE official told the Journal. The country has also pushed for the US to occupy Iranian-held islands in the waterway, including Abu Musa — claimed by the UAE and held by Iran for 50 years — Arab officials said.
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20% of the world's oil supply, meaning a prolonged closure — or a military miscalculation to reopen it — could trigger a global energy crisis.
Shift in posture
The move marks a significant strategic reversal for the UAE. Dubai, its commercial hub, has long maintained financial ties with Iran, and Emirati diplomats were still mediating between Washington and Tehran before the war broke out on 28 February, including hosting Iranian national security official Ali Larijani in Abu Dhabi shortly before he was killed in an airstrike, the Journal reports.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry, in a statement, pointed to existing UN resolutions condemning Iran's attacks and the International Maritime Organization's condemnation of Hormuz's closure, saying there is "broad global consensus that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved."
Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, is sponsoring the UN Security Council resolution, with a vote expected Thursday, according to the Journal. Russia and China could veto it; France is proposing an alternative version. Even a failed vote would not deter the UAE from joining a military effort, Gulf officials told the Journal.
Iran escalates
Iran has responded to the UAE's new posture by sharply intensifying strikes. Nearly 50 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones hit the Emirates on Tuesday alone, the Journal reports. Iran has fired approximately 2,500 projectiles at the UAE in total — more than at any other country, including Israel — and has warned it would "destroy the vital civilian infrastructure" of any Gulf state supporting military action against its territory.
The strikes have reduced air traffic and tourism, depressed property values, and triggered layoffs. Dubai's Emirates airline issued a notice barring Iranian nationals from entering or transiting the country. The Iranian Hospital and Iranian Club Dubai have been closed by government order.
Military assets and regional alignment
The UAE brings concrete military assets to any potential coalition. It operates F-16 fighters supplied by the US — used in airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq alongside American forces — as well as surveillance drones and stockpiles of US-supplied bombs and short-range missiles that analysts say could ease Israeli and American shortages. Its deep-water port at Jebel Ali and proximity to the strait's entrance make it a potential staging ground for operations.
"The proximity along the strait means that you can team up and place different platforms there to protect shipping and go after Iranian targets on the other side of the Gulf," Grant Rumley, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute, told the Journal.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have also moved to back the war effort, with Arab officials telling the Journal they now want the campaign to continue "until it is disabled or toppled," though they have stopped short of committing military forces.
Limits of military action
Analysts remain skeptical that force alone can open the strait. "I don't think we can do it," Rep. Adam Smith (D., Wash.), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Journal. "All Iran has to do is be able to keep the strait under threat, which means they need one drone, they need one mine, they need one small suicide boat."
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Any operation, military analysts told the Journal, would require controlling not just the waterway but the territory along its entire 100-mile length — potentially requiring ground troops.
Iran is demanding permanent oversight of the strait, including a toll system. Gulf states fear that any diplomatic settlement would give Tehran formal administrative authority over the waterway, and are pushing for military action first, Arab officials said.
Elizabeth Dent, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former Pentagon official focused on the Gulf, outlined the risk facing regional states: "They could step into this war only to face a more aggressive Iran, continue to absorb hits to critical infrastructure and potentially investor confidence, and then struggle to rebuild ties with their neighbor, particularly if Trump elects to declare victory before reopening the strait or crippling Iran's missile and drone capabilities."
President Trump, the Journal has previously reported, has told aides he would consider ending the war without guaranteeing the strait is reopened, leaving that to other countries.
US-Israel operation on the Middle East
The current crisis stems from a military operation launched by Israel and the United States against Iran on 28 February, when Israel struck the Iranian capital Tehran. US President Donald Trump announced that American forces had begun a "major combat operation" against Iran aimed at "eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime." Trump accused Iranian authorities of "financing and training" militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Hamas in Palestine, stating that the operation's goals were to "destroy Iran's missile industry and fleet" and "ensure it can no longer destabilize the world."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and striking US military bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
On the same day, Trump announced that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was dead — a claim later confirmed by Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). French President Emmanuel Macron called for an emergency UN Security Council session, while the European Union reaffirmed its "unwavering commitment to regional security and stability." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was right to give Iranians a chance to rid themselves of the "terrorist regime and guarantee security for all peoples who have suffered from Iran's attacks."
On 1 March, the IRGC declared it was launching "the most destructive offensive operation in the history of the Islamic Republic" against Israel and "American terrorist bases." Trump warned of a "very powerful strike" in retaliation. By 2 March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the next phase of US operations would be even more devastating.
On 6 March, Trump called for a full change of Iran's leadership, saying he already had several candidates in mind for the role of "good leader." On 8 March, Iran's Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei — son of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — as the Islamic Republic's third Supreme Leader. Trump declined to comment on the election, saying only: "We'll see what happens," having previously warned that Iran's new leader would "not last long" without White House approval.
On 26 March, Trump announced a pause in strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure until 6 April, saying the decision was made at the Iranian government's request while negotiations continue.
