Challenges of the UAE pendulum game in the Middle East region

BY: Pooya Mirzaei

PEJOURNAL – The Negev meeting was attended by the US and Israeli foreign ministers and officials from Bahrain, Morocco, and Egypt. The United Arab Emirates, which took the lead in Abraham Accords to normalize relations with the Zionist regime, was also one of the countries that attended the recent meeting.

A look at the country’s foreign policy record over the past year shows that Abu Dhabi is facing a serious contradiction in its approach to foreign relations. In the last two years, the UAE government has taken a new approach to develop relations with countries such as Iran, Iraq, Russia, and Syria, which in a way stems from the country’s realistic view of political and security equations in the region and the role and influence of these different countries. The visit of a high-ranking UAE security official to Tehran, hosting Bashar al-Assad after 11 years, and the UAE’s emphasis on the comprehensive development of relations with Iraq are all among the measures that define the framework of a realistic approach in Emirates foreign relations.

 At the same time, the UAE has the widest economic, political, and security relations with the Zionist regime, which is in clear conflict with its actions in developing relations with the main countries on the axis of resistance.

Although the UAE’s deconstructive action in establishing comprehensive relations with the Zionist regime is a clear departure from the common aspirations of the Islamic countries in defending the oppressed people of Palestine, its officials are trying to establish their relations with the Zionist regime also interpreted from a realistic approach in foreign relations.

Regardless of the UAE’s incoherent policy with other Islamic countries towards the Zionist regime, in the midst of the essential conflicts of the resistance-oriented countries with the Zionist regime, which have even been accompanied by military and security conflicts, a small country like the UAE will face serious challenges to establish simultaneous relations based on common interests with the Zionist regime and the resistance-oriented countries, will face the UAE with serious challenges.

Even if we do not take into account the numerous reports on the UAE’s close intelligence and security cooperation with the Zionist regime in the region, which is the hidden face of Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv relations, active participation in meetings such as the Negev Summit, where its threat to Iran and the resistance front is obvious, cannot be considered a normal and acceptable subject.

In addition to the above, there is ample evidence of the UAE’s contradictory behavior in the field of foreign relations, which shows that the country has taken a pendulum and contradictory approach in foreign policy, which naturally cannot match with the political, security and geopolitical capacities of this small country to fit.

Considering the wave of change in US strategy towards restricting China and possible leaving of Middle East, the set of actions in the UAE foreign relations shows that Abu Dhabi probably intends to be the first player in the region, after the decline of Saudi Arabia due to internal crises and external challenges, in order to gain the focus and the attention of other regional and international actors to the political, security and economic capacities of the UAE.

Challenges of the UAE pendulum game in the Middle East region

Naturally, in order to realize this dream, it is necessary to create a so-called balance between the power blocs in the region, and Abu Dhabi is trying to play a decisive role in these developments by diversifying its foreign relations, in a pendulum framework.

Regardless of the internal contradictions of the UAE’s strategy, the country also seems to be captivated by the obsessive beliefs of the past, which are based on the continued superiority of Western powers in identifying the main sources of power in the region, despite the situation in countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine has well illustrated the situation of Western governments, led by the United States, in supporting and engaging with allies in the new context.

This point of view is also a manifestation of the policy of converging with the Zionist regime in order to satisfy the West and accompany the US game against Russia and give Britain a commitment to supply energy to the West. At the same time, it is argued that the UAE, with its proximity to the Zionist regime and some other opportunistic countries in the region, intends to play the role of investor in the project of illegal seizure of Palestinian and regional energy resources and its transfer to Europe.

At first glance, it may seem that the leaders of the UAE take a pendulum approach to maximize the benefits of this small country on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, but developments in the region and the world reflect the fact that the era of fulfilling Western promises, convergence with the Zionist regime, and little attention to the main centers of power in the region to achieve greater benefits, is ended and the result of this approach, emerged with military action against the resilient people of Yemen, will be nothing but failure and incurring huge political and economic costs.