The “jewel of the Gulf” could face serious threats if the UAE enters the ongoing Iran war, warned top US economist Jeffrey Sachs, raising concerns over vulnerabilities in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, considered ‘safe havens’ in the Middle East region.Speaking to news agency ANI, Sachs said these cities, built as global tourism and financial hubs rather than fortified military zones, could be exposed in the event of escalation. He criticised the UAE’s alignment with the US and Israel, calling it a strategic misstep.“Basically, Dubai and Abu Dhabi could be blown up if the UAE gets into the war. These are resort areas. These are tourist destinations. These are not fortified missile defence areas. These are places where rich people are going to party and put their money. And to enter a war zone is to defeat the entire purpose of a place like Dubai. The Emirates got itself into an absurd mess with its eyes open. And it keeps doubling down, by the way,” he said.Sachs described Gulf nations’ participation in the Abraham Accords as an “invitation for disaster”, arguing that reliance on American security guarantees has led to dangerous overconfidence. He invoked former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s warning about the risks of close alignment with Washington.“Entering the so-called Abraham accords, basically siding with Israel and the United States and such fraught political circumstances, was an invitation to disaster for the Emirates, but the point is these governments in the Gulf bet everything on American protection. That’s their basic bet. They said, we have the US military facilities. They will protect us. Therefore, we can act as we see fit. We can make deals as we see fit. And we don’t have to worry. This is a fundamental miscalculation,” he said.“Every day I repeat Kissinger’s famous adage, and I’ll repeat it at this point as well, that to be an enemy of the United States is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal,” he added.Urging restraint, Sachs warned the UAE against further escalation.“I don’t want to be misunderstood, but the naivete of this announcing yesterday that we’re going to join this effort against the evil Iranians, and we’re going to continue to honour our commitment to put trillions of dollars into the United States. Come on. Enough. Protect yourself. Understand the situation. You think that doubling down on a losing proposition is really the right way to proceed at this point, but that’s exactly what they’re doing,” he said.His remarks come amid intensifying rhetoric from Tehran. On March 20, the ministry of foreign affairs of Iran warned regional countries against allowing the US to use their territory for military operations against Iran, calling such bases the “root cause” of the crisis.“Foreign ministry spokesman emphasises the Urgent Need for Regional Countries to Act to Prevent the Continued Use of Their Territory and Facilities by America and the Zionist Regime for Conducting Military Aggression Against Iran,” the ministry said in a post on X.The spokesperson also cautioned that countries hosting US bases could face consequences if those facilities were used in attacks on Iran.Meanwhile, Gulf states have condemned Iran’s strikes on their energy infrastructure, signalling stronger alignment with Washington as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
