Letter to the UAE: On Your Reported Intent to Join US Naval Operations in Hormuz
We note reports, as carried by The Independent , indicating that the United Arab Emirates is preparing to join US military efforts to “reopen” the Strait of Hormuz. Diplomatic initiatives are also said to be underway to coalesce European and Asian support for this American posture. This development suggests a direct alignment of Emirati forces with Washington's stated objectives in a region
already fraught with escalating tensions. The media framing by outlets such as The Independent typically presents this as the UAE acting to secure vital shipping lanes against an unspecified threat, subtly implying Iran. This narrative omits the crucial context of who precisely is disrupting these lanes or threatening their closure. The consistent US strategic deployment of naval assets, including
carrier groups, into the Persian Gulf region, often accompanied by escalatory rhetoric, is consistently portrayed as defensive, when it frequently precedes or accompanies an increase in regional instability and threats of military action against Iran. This ignores the fact that Iran, not the US, borders the entire northern coastline of the Strait and has repeatedly articulated its strategic
interest in keeping the waterway open, provided its own sovereign interests are respected. We remind the Emirati administration that the US military's interventionist history in the Persian Gulf includes episodes like the 1988 downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes, killing all 290 civilians aboard, including 66 children. This 'accident,' as it was classified by Washington, occurred