Peace requires decisive action, not rhetoric, to protect stability: UAE

The UAE has called for firm international action to safeguard sovereignty and protect global trade routes, warning that threats to maritime security and regional stability cannot be addressed through rhetoric alone.

Speaking at the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Istanbul, Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council, said hope, peace and justice for future generations require “clear and decisive positions” against those who undermine state sovereignty and destabilise regions.

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Ghobash said the UAE and Gulf countries are facing a recurring pattern of Iranian aggression, both direct and through proxies, targeting civilian infrastructure and turning international waterways into tools of pressure and coercion.

He told delegates that attacks on sovereignty and freedom of navigation should no longer be viewed as isolated incidents, but as violations that strike at the core of the international system, citing recent positions adopted by the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council.

The FNC Speaker said recent actions have extended to disrupting navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global energy trade passes, alongside key supplies such as fertilisers essential to global agriculture.

He warned that failure to confront such actions risks setting a dangerous precedent, where threats to states and disruption of trade routes become accepted tools of political leverage.

While welcoming the ceasefire between the United States and Iran and ongoing negotiations, Ghobash said any lasting settlement must take into account the concerns of affected countries and ensure a balance between peace and security.

He stressed that any attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz would constitute an act of coercion and a deliberate chokehold on a vital artery of the global economy, adding that international waterways cannot be subject to the will of any single party.

Ghobash called on Iran to halt such practices, provide guarantees against their recurrence and compensate affected countries for economic losses.

He also urged parliaments worldwide to adopt a clear and responsible stance, including condemning what he described as systematic Iranian violations of sovereignty across several countries, and supporting international accountability to protect maritime routes.

Concluding his remarks, he said lasting peace depends on genuine political will, respect for sovereignty and adherence to international law, stressing that stability can only be achieved through justice, responsibility and restraint.