How Trump’s Iran War Is Threatening Dubai’s Reputation As A Safe Haven

[0:00] the uae has been hit harder than any other middle east country or gulf nation [0:05] in the war against iran breaking news take a look at u.s stock futures and global equity markets [0:11] surging on an 11th hour ceasefire deal between the u.s and iran if the iranians are willing [0:18] in good faith to work with us i think we can make an agreement if they're gonna lie if they're gonna [0:23] cheat if they're trying to gonna try to prevent even the fragile truce that we've set up from [0:29] taking place then they're not going to be happy this conflict if it drags on will impact every [0:35] sector in the united arab emirates and it will impact the careful structure and kind of vision [0:41] that the emirates has set out for itself the uae prides itself on being a safe haven wealthy [0:46] residents are not necessarily leaving at least for now but some are pausing major decisions because [0:52] the recovery isn't about a ceasefire it's about trust you can repair a runway in a week but you can't [0:59] repair a safe haven reputation overnight the impact on air travel is where we've seen some of the [1:17] worst of the economic impact here there are real global repercussions when the world's busiest airport [1:22] effectively comes to a standstill dozens of international airlines have suspended golf flights [1:28] dubai international was struck by debris in the early days of the conflict and temporarily had to [1:33] reduce capacity fuel costs have also surged and war risk insurance premiums for some of these golf [1:40] routes have also risen sharply so the longer the conflict continues the more structural damage it [1:46] does to dubai's positioning as the world's preferred transit hub this is a country that's really built [1:53] its entire economic model around being a transit point for goods and capital and people so to say [2:00] logistics is important to the economy would really be an understatement jebel ali is the largest port in [2:06] the middle east it's among the top 10 globally by container throughput and the uae also sits at the [2:12] intersection of europe asia and africa which is about eight hours flying time from 80 percent of [2:18] the world's population iranian missile and drone attacks have really put major ports like jebel ali [2:23] in the crosshairs we've seen shipping volumes through the strait of hormuz which of course sits [2:28] at the mouth of the gulf just a short distance from dubai falling to a fraction of pre-war levels the [2:34] knock-on effect for dubai's role as a re-export hub is really significant because if these goods can't [2:41] flow freely in and out of the region the entire logistical value proposition is really under pressure [2:47] the uae is one of the largest oil producers in the world and it's also a key member of the opec plus [2:54] group it has a production capacity of around 4 million barrels per day and adnock or the abadabi [3:00] national oil company is one of the world's most profitable energy companies the uae energy sector [3:06] has been hit really hard the iranian attacks have specifically targeted critical energy infrastructure [3:12] oil price of course is impacted it's not something we see often here but i did see lines at gas stations [3:18] this week because oil prices were announced and fuel prices here in the emirates went up 30 percent [3:23] the timeline to return to pre-war levels is the biggest question facing leaders here for oil and gas [3:30] infrastructure for example the recovery timeline is often measured in years and months rather than [3:36] weeks depending on the extent of the physical damage the uae's twin stock markets here in dubai [3:43] and abu dhabi have seen about 120 billion dollars in value being evaporated the dubai financial market [3:49] plunged about 16 percent in the first month of the war and the dubai international financial center [3:55] itself briefly turns into a ghost town as well it's been interesting in dubai you know being here [4:01] throughout the war there is a lot of worry of course but we're still seeing people out people are [4:05] going to lunches there's people in the street there's people at malls but there is a sort of [4:10] caution and the united are members at the moment because while the government is saying everything [4:14] is normal there is also still things that of course are going to be impacted so dubai is a city that [4:20] really runs on tourism about 11 to 15 percent of the gdp here in dubai is really based on tourism in [4:27] in 2025 dubai quite literally was untouchable and then of course along came february 2026 and the iran war [4:37] didn't just slow the momentum here it slammed on the brakes at about 200 miles an hour it's been [4:42] really detrimental for for the tourist and and hospitality industry here in dubai the government [4:47] has even gone so far as to implement a rescue package to really help these stress sectors the [4:53] emirates have said a ceasefire is not enough what we need from iran are security guarantees i do expect [5:02] a a rethinking of gulf foreign relations but not only vis-a-vis iran vis-a-vis the united states as [5:08] well there is a serious questioning as to the extent to which the u.s security umbrella is a net asset or [5:16] net liability for the gulf states at this stage the uae and the u.s have had a long-standing security [5:22] partnership relationship this is one of the reasons that the iranian regime has targeted the united [5:27] arab emirates because they say the united states is using the space as a launch pad in the war against [5:33] iran the uae is always ready for any any situation of any challenge that we've seen and we stand up to [5:40] these kind of challenges as well with bold actions this conflict between the united states israel and iran [5:47] is likely to really cement the security relationship between the united states and the united arab emirates [5:52] the united states and the united arab emirates are lockstep in their goals in this war one of which [5:58] is making sure that iran does not have the ability to attack america's allies in the gulf namely the [6:04] united arab emirates for years to come