DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates for decades has advertised itself as a haven for international business in a Middle East awash in violent upheaval. Those waves have now crashed into this nation, testing its economic model like never before.
The UAE, a close ally of the United States and Israel, faced more missile and drone attacks from Iran during the war than any other country. The attacks — and Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz — have more than halved the Emirates' exports of crude oil and natural gas. Its tourism and conference sectors have also suffered.
The country, which sits just across the Persian Gulf from Iran, has portrayed itself as unfazed, even as it makes significant changes. It recently announced plans to build another pipeline to reduce its reliance on the strait, and it dropped out of the OPEC oil cartel so it can boost energy production longer-term, something that had been under consideration since before the war.
