The World Governments Summit itself, he acknowledges, has landed at a moment of heightened regional tension. From the Gaza crisis and the renewed presence of US military power in the Gulf to rising international pressure on Iran, the atmosphere is febrile. But Gargash is notably measured. “The region is always tense,” he says. “If it’s not one issue, it’s another.” The task for diplomacy is not to amplify anxiety but to contain it. 

As US rhetoric hardens, Gargash is explicit about the UAE’s position on Iran. “As a neighbour, the last thing that we want to see is a military confrontation,” he says, adding that the UAE is “very concerned” about the prospect of escalation. War, he warns, would further destabilise a region already exhausted by conflict. 

Instead, Gargash urges Tehran to seize what he describes as a narrowing diplomatic window. “This is an opportunity to negotiate directly with the US,” he says, pointing to Iran’s nuclear programme as a central issue. Failure to address this, he cautions, could result in an escalation “not in favour of Iran or any of us”. 

The UAE’s neutrality is not passive. “You have to have enough distance from this party and that party,” he says. “And you have to be seen to say the same thing in public and behind closed doors.” In today’s geopolitical climate, where lines of communication are closing faster than conflicts are ending, that consistency is a form of leverage. The UAE’s growing role as a convenor is not accidental, nor is it ideological. It’s the product of deliberate restraint in an era that often rewards escalation. As the next round of US-Ukraine-Russia talks approaches and as pressure builds over Iran, the UAE is positioning itself not as a commentator on global crises but as a calming voice in the middle of them. 

For now, when rivals need a neutral room, a reliable phone line and a host willing to absorb criticism from all sides, they are not looking to traditional diplomatic capitals. They are calling the Gulf.  

Published by: Inzamam Rashid

Source: Monocle