The United Arab Emirates will not let its airspace, territory or territorial waters be used for any hostile military actions against Iran, the UAE foreign ministry said on Monday, reaffirming its commitment to neutrality and regional stability.
Uncertainty over the possibility of military action in Iran has lingered after US President Donald Trump said last week that an "armada" was heading towards the country but that he hoped he would not have to use it.
Trump's warnings to Tehran were against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
The UAE hosts thousands of US personnel at Al Dhafra airbase near the capital Abu Dhabi, one of several American military sites in the Gulf.
The UAE also refuses to provide logistical support for attacks, the statement said, adding that "dialogue, de-escalation, adherence to international law, and respect for state sovereignty" were the best way to address "current crises".
Iran has said it would treat any attack "as an all-out war against us", as the US dispatched a military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East earlier this month.
US warships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, several destroyers and fighter aircraft, started moving from the Asia-Pacific as tensions soared between Iran and the US in recent months.
"This military build-up — we hope it is not intended for real confrontation — but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran," said the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it — as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this," the official said.
The US military has in the past periodically sent increased forces to the Middle East at times of heightened tensions, moves that were often defensive. However, the US military staged a major build-up last year ahead of its June strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme.
