Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan responded to criticism from former French ambassador to the US, UN, and Israel, Gerard Araud, and stated that the UAE will "never be blackmailed by terrorists."
UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (AbZ) stated that the Emirates will "never be blackmailed by terrorists," in a post on his personal X/Twitter on Sunday night.
AbZ was replying to criticism from Gerard Araud, a former French ambassador to the US, the UN, and Israel, who said that the UAE's policy of denouncing Iran and strengthening relations with Washington "means deepening your dependence on a country that has led yours into a disastrous conflict without caring about your interests."
Araud, in turn, was commenting on a statement by the UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash, who said that Iranian attacks on Gulf countries “cement the Iranian threat as a central pillar of Gulf strategic thinking” and will lead to the “strengthening of our security partnerships with Washington.”
AbZ is the younger brother of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
UAE activates air defenses after Iranian missile, drone launch
Meanwhile, the UAE's Defense Ministry announced that air defenses were activated following a detection of Iranian missiles and drones launched towards the Gulf state.
Since Iranian attacks on the UAE began, Iran has launched 15 cruise missiles, 345 ballistic missiles, and 1773 drones, including four ballistic missiles and 25 drones on Sunday, the UAE's Defense Ministry stated.
In addition, both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia stated that Iran fired drones against them early on Monday morning.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry also announced that Iran fired ballistic missiles towards Riyadh on Monday morning.
One of the missiles was successfully intercepted while another hit in an uninhabited area, the ministry noted.
