UAE Accelerates ‘Zero Hormuz’ Strategy After Iran War

Key Points

1. The UAE will expand eastern ports, railways and pipelines to reduce trade dependence on Hormuz.
2. The strategy predates the war, but the strait’s closure and energy disruption have accelerated implementation.
3. Abu Dhabi will broaden security partnerships and domestic defence production while deepening US ties.

The latest

The UAE is accelerating its “Zero Hormuz” strategy after the Iran war, investing in alternative trade routes, logistics links and export infrastructure while maintaining the strait remains globally vital. Mohammed Al Dhaheri, an adviser at the Foreign Minister’s office, said port expansion, Etihad Rail and economic corridors would underpin the push. He also reaffirmed the UAE’s support for freedom of navigation under international law and for restoring the waterway to its prewar status.

Details

• Alternative gateways: Al Dhaheri said the UAE would increase investment in Khor Fakkan and Fujairah ports and use Etihad Rail to diversify routes. The former Foreign Ministry strategy director said the crisis required permanent infrastructure rather than temporary measures.
• Regional corridors: Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi said the UAE had established logistics corridors connecting the Arabian Gulf with the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman. The country is also working with Omani authorities to process UAE-bound cargo through Sohar and Duqm ports.
• Export capacity: A new pipeline is being built to add capacity for exporting Abu Dhabi crude through the Gulf of Oman. The project forms part of a broader programme to expand eastern ports and connect them by pipelines, roads and railways to oilfields, gasfields and petroleum facilities.
• Closure fallout: Before the war, about one fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through Hormuz. Iran then carried out its threat to block the strait, sending energy prices sharply higher and triggering a global economic crisis. Gulf states were heavily affected; the UAE faced Iranian missile attacks and assaults on its oil tankers in the waterway.
• Negotiating dispute: The strait’s status remains a central obstacle in Washington-Tehran negotiations mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. Tehran says Hormuz belongs to Iran and Oman, a position broadly rejected by Gulf states. Al Dhaheri called for a comprehensive agreement addressing Gulf concerns and said GCC states carry economic, political and diplomatic influence across and beyond the region.
• Security diversification: The UAE will broaden defence and security partnerships after the conflict, extending its diversification of political and economic relationships. Al Dhaheri said that would include expanding the domestic military and defence industry and could prompt GCC discussions on new regional security arrangements, while the United States remains a strategic partner whose ties Abu Dhabi plans to deepen.

Background

Al Zeyoudi outlined the zero-dependence goal in June, regardless of whether Hormuz reopened. The strategy does not remove the strait’s importance; it seeks enough land and maritime capacity to keep trade and energy moving through other routes when the waterway is disrupted.

What’s next

Progress will be measured by eastern port expansion, completion of the new Gulf of Oman pipeline and increased freight use of Etihad Rail and the Sohar-Duqm cargo channels.