The United Arab Emirates hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and the United States while staying prepared for the worst. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, spoke on Sunday at a conference in Manama.
"We are hoping that there is a diplomatic breakthrough," Gargash said. "It is not the interest of the region to go through another round."
He said the country is also braced for a bad outcome, as it has shown before. The conflict began on February 28 with joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Tehran retaliated by hitting Gulf countries allied with Washington, among other locations. After a visit to Tehran this week by a Qatari delegation, Iran sent envoys to the Gulf state to continue consultations.
These talks form part of indirect negotiations with the US to end the war. US President Donald Trump repeated his threats on Saturday.
Trump stated that the United States still has to take care of one or two targets in Iran. US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Donald Blome addressed the Manama conference on Sunday.
"We just cannot allow Iran to take this region and the global economy hostage," Blome said. He said negotiation channels remain open and active.
"The hand of negotiation has been extended, and those channels have continued to be open and active at the same time," Blome told the audience. "We have been also prepared to go in another direction."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Trump has not decided on fresh strikes against Iran. Rubio said Washington remains open to a diplomatic solution.
