The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are privately lobbying allies to help them persuade President Donald Trump to reach for an off-ramp that would keep US military operations against Iran short, according to people familiar with the matter.
The countries are seeking to build a wide coalition to advance a swift and diplomatic end to the conflict, the people said, in order to prevent regional escalation and a prolonged energy price shock. They were speaking on condition of anonymity, discussing matters that have not been made public.
A Qatari assessment shared with Bloomberg News warned that if shipping lanes in the region remain severely disrupted by the middle of this week, they would expect to see a more significant market reaction for natural gas prices than Monday's sharp spike.
Qatar shut down liquefied natural gas production at the world's largest export facility after it was targeted in an Iranian drone attack, sending European gas prices surging more than 50 per cent.
Privately, both the UAE and Qatar are working to quickly improve their air defence capabilities, the people familiar with the matter said. Officials at Qatar's International Media Office and the UAE's foreign ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The UAE has requested assistance from its allies with medium-range air defence, while Qatar has asked for help to counter drone attacks, which have emerged as a greater threat than ballistic missiles, the people added. Qatar's stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles will last four days at the current rate of use, according to an internal analysis seen by Bloomberg News.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have held telephone calls with a number of European leaders in recent days, including the UK's Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
