Wall Street Journal says Abu Dhabi wants US to occupy islands held by Iran in waterway, is also pushing UN Security Council resolution to green-light use of force
By Reuters and ToI StaffToday, 11:00 am
Fishing boats dot the sea as cargo ships, in the background, sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz off the United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo)
The United Arab Emirates is pushing for the US to forcefully reopen the Strait of Hormuz and is willing to assist in such a military operation, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night.
The report said the Gulf state is also seeking a UN Security Council Resolution that would green-light such an operation, as it faces continued Iranian attacks.
An Emirati official told the Journal that the country’s diplomats have urged the US, along with unspecified European and Asian military powers, to establish a coalition to forcefully open Hormuz, and the UAE is looking into what military contributions it can make to help break Iran’s grip on the strait.
The UAE has also suggested the US should occupy Iranian-held islands in the Hormuz, including Abu Musa, which is claimed by Abu Dhabi, Arab officials said.
The UAE’s foreign ministry did not deny the report, saying that there was a “broad global consensus that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be preserved.”
Gulf countries, most of which host US bases, have been repeatedly fired upon by Tehran during the US-Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic, with concerns mounting over Iran’s closure of Hormuz and its use of the vital waterway, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip.
While privately grumbling that they were not given adequate advance notice of the US-Israeli attack in February and complaining the US had ignored their warnings that the war would have devastating consequences for the entire region, some regional allies are making the case to the White House that the moment offers a historic opportunity to cripple Tehran’s clerical rule once and for all.
Officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain have conveyed in private conversations that they do not want the military operation to end until there are significant changes in the Iranian leadership or there’s a dramatic shift in Iranian behavior, according to the officials, who spoke to AP on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
Attacks were reported in several Gulf countries early on Wednesday, with drones hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport, causing a big blaze, and authorities in Bahrain reporting a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian attack.
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile near the Qatari capital Doha, causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew was safe.
US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the end of the war with Iran could be near, with Washington signaling potential for both direct talks with Tehran’s leadership and a winding down of the conflict even without a deal.
At the same time, the US has sent Marines to the region in anticipation of possible ground-based operations, including in Hormuz.
While the United States has said talks with Iran were ongoing, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that he has been receiving direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but those do not constitute “negotiations,” Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV cited him as saying.
AP contributed to this report.
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