On August 1, the official Turkish news agency, Anadolu, carried the following report on its Arabic page: “Anadolu obtained pieces of information from a source close to well-informed Emirati parties regarding the reasons behind the present signs indicating that the UAE is modifying its foreign politics and seeking to improve its relations with Iran.

“According to the source who refused to reveal his identity, the prince of the United Arab Emirates held a secret meeting following Iran’s announcement regarding its shooting down of a US drone on June 20. The source mentioned that the meeting was attended by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Mohammad Bin Zayed al-Nahyan and the Dubai Prince the Emirati PM, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed al-Maktoum. The source indicated that, at that meeting, Al-Maktoum criticized his country’s foreign policies and insisted on revisiting them. The source further said that Al-Maktoum stated the following at the meeting: “We must conduct a full review of our foreign policies. We spend millions of dollars on a daily basis but what are we getting in return? We must walk away from the politics of interfering in countries’ affairs. These politics are costing us too much with nothing in return.”

“Al-Maktoum called for abstaining from spending massive amounts of money in areas where the UAE has no interest. He added that changing the regime in Libya and Sudan will do no harm and no good to the UAE. He went on to say: “We hope that Washington will launch a military campaign against Tehran. However, Trump is calling for dialogue with Iran although the latter has shot down a US drone. And if Washington does attack Tehran, Iran will respond by targeting the UAE or Saudi Arabia directly of through the Houthis.”

“The source added that Al-Maktoum told the people present that the UAE will lose all the foreign investors if one Iranian rocket falls on its lands. It will also be unable to keep the Asian workers. Al-Maktoum further indicated that the UAE-supported forces of Khalifa Haftar in Libya have failed to achieve any progress in their attempt at controlling Tripoli. He added: “For years, we have been supporting Haftar to no avail. We must look for political rather than military alternatives.”

“...According to the source, which is close to the UAE, Mohammad Bin Zayed al-Nahyan pondered the criticism of Al-Maktoum and gave orders to conduct some changes at the level of the country’s foreign politics... Recently, there have been pieces of news circulating in the media on the UAE stepping away from its initiatives and positions that oppose Iran... In addition, the UAE has announced its plan to pull out its troops from Yemen and reduce its support for the Saudi-led Arab alliance against the Houthis. Also recently, and following six years [of abstinence], Emirati and Iranian security officials met in Iran..."