- Hussain Hassan Mirza, the first UAE Ambassador to India, said the UAE will not be drawn into the war
- The UAE seeks to prevent its territory being used as a base by Iran or Israel, he told NDTV
- Mirza praises PM Narendra Modi's influence to help resolve the Iran-Israel conflict
The UAE has no desire to be drawn into the Iran-Israel conflict and will not allow its territory to be used as a launching pad by either side, Hussain Hassan Mirza, the first UAE Ambassador to India, told NDTV today.
"To be honest, I'm not sure why we are involved. There is no reason for the UAE to be involved in this," Mirza said.
Abu Dhabi is in a sensitive geopolitical position; it is a neighbour to Iran, and a partner to Israel under the Abraham Accords.
That position is precisely what makes the UAE useful, Mirza added. "We can negotiate between the two."
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach to the UAE leadership, Mirza said PM Modi commands respect not just among Gulf leaders but among the region's public and business communities, and that credibility extends to both parties in the current conflict.
"One phone call from Mr Modi to the counterparts in Iran and Israel can solve this issue, can end this issue. One phone call," Mirza told NDTV.
This confidence rests on PM Modi's standing with both "warriors" - his word - currently fighting what he called a war being waged "on our soil".
"They are fighting each other on our soil. That is unacceptable," Mirza said.
He was careful to stay within civilian lanes. "I am not a military guy," he said, and added that reports of minimal damage so far are accurate as per his assessment.
The Iran-Israel war showed no sign of pausing for the transition of the new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Israel's military launched a fresh wave of strikes on central Iran on Monday and hit Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.
The human cost also continued to accumulate. Iran's UN ambassador put the number of civilian deaths at 1,332, with thousands wounded. The US confirmed a seventh American soldier had died during treatment.
