1 May 2026 , A senior adviser to the UAE president has issued a stark warning that no unilateral arrangement proposed by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz can be taken at face value, pointing to what he called Tehran’s “treacherous aggression” against the very nations it now seeks to negotiate with.
Anwar Gargash, speaking on X, made clear that any conversation about the future of the Strait must be anchored in the collective resolve of the international community and the framework of international law, not shaped by Iranian interests or secured through Iranian promises. “In the ongoing discussion about the Strait of Hormuz, the collective international will and provisions of international law emerge as the primary guarantor of freedom of navigation through this vital passage,” Gargash stated.
The remarks carry particular weight at a moment when governments across the region are growing increasingly resistant to Iran’s attempts to position itself as the gatekeeper of one of the world’s most critical waterways. Tehran has been pushing to redefine the rules governing the Strait, a narrow passage through which a significant portion of the world’s seaborne oil and gas trade flows, but neighboring states are pushing back hard, arguing that a country which has launched attacks on its neighbors holds no moral or legal standing to dictate terms of passage to the rest of the world.
Throughout the ongoing conflict, shipping through the Strait has faced serious disruptions, with Iran selectively allowing vessels from certain nations to pass while blocking or threatening others. For Gulf states like the UAE, which depend on open sea lanes for their own energy exports and economic stability, this kind of conditional access is not a solution, it is a threat dressed up as one.
Gargash’s message was unambiguous: the legitimacy of free navigation through Hormuz cannot rest on the guarantees of a state that has demonstrated, through its own actions, that it is willing to weaponize the waterway for political ends. The international community, he argued, must be the guarantor, not Iran.
