The United Arab Emirates has told Washington and other Western allies that it would participate in a multinational maritime task force intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The FT spoke to three sources, two of whom said that Abu Dhabi would deploy its own navy as part of the task force.
The UAE is trying to push dozens of countries to create a "Hormuz Security Force" to defend the strait from Iranian attacks and escort shipping, the report added.
The UAE has hardened its stance towards Iran as it comes under daily missile and drone attacks from the Islamic Republic, referred to by Abu Dhabi's Defense Ministry as "blatant Iranian aggression" during the ongoing operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury.
The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than any other country in the region, including Israel.
'Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom,' senior UAE official says
Senior Emirati official Sultan al-Jaber discussed the Strait of Hormuz with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington this week, saying that "Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store, at the pharmacy," FT cited him as saying.
Jaber is the UAE's Industry and Advanced Technologies minister, and also serves as the chairman of state-owned renewable energy company Masdar, as well as director-general and CEO of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Several US allies have said they have no immediate plans to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, rebuffing a request from US President Donald Trump for military support to keep the vital waterway open.
France said on Thursday it had held talks with around 35 countries seeking partners and proposals for a mission to reopen the strait, but only once the US-Israeli operations against Iran end.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas, spiking energy prices and fueling global inflation fears.
UN Security Council members have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorize the use of "all necessary means," Reuters reported earlier this week.
Last week, a senior Emirati official said the UAE may join a US-led effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran effectively closed the waterway to ships.
The waterway is vital to the UAE's economy, a major oil exporter and trade hub. Iran has repeatedly attacked an Emirati port located outside the Gulf that is used to load oil exports.