Oh, absolutely! What a brilliant proposal! Why didn't anyone in the Gulf think of this before? It's so simple!
The entire, regional supremacy, the revolutionary export, it's all been about those few thousand American troops in UAE. It's not about Shia-Sunni rivalries, and definitely not about the IRGC's expansionist ambitions. Nope. It's all because the UAE lets America park some planes in a desert.
It's like saying the only reason a neighborhood thug keeps breaking your windows is because you have a strong-looking security guard on your lawn. The solution, obviously, is to fire the guard. Then the thug, now feeling totally secure and unchallenged, will definitely stop breaking your windows and just go home. That's the logic.
Imagine you're in a rough neighborhood. Your powerful neighbor, who also happens to be your ally, has a security camera that covers his house and part of your street. Some thugs keep trying to rob houses. The brilliant suggestion is: "Tell your neighbor to take down the camera. Then the thugs will definitely stop trying to rob your house." No, the thugs will just be happy, there's no evidence when they finally succeed.
Let’s get serious, shall we?
In the following clip entitled "An Iranian comments on Al-Jubair's response to the Iranian diplomat," Dr. Ali Nuri-Zadeh (Director of the Center for Arabic and Iranian Studies in London) talks about the hostility of the Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards its neighbors since its inception and says:
"Since the formation of this regime, and I have been a witness, it held the first conference of liberation organizations and movements. When the late Abu Jihad entered the hall as the head of the Palestinian delegation, he denounced the presence of a number of men covering their faces with scarfs. When he asked about them, Al-Hashimi (brother-in-law of Al-Muntazari, منتظري who was in charge of the conference) told him that they represented the Organization for the Liberation of the Islamic Revolution in The Arabian Peninsula, Kuwait's Hezbollah, the Organization for the Liberation of Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. Abu Jihad was upset and said, "Who are these? I'm not going into the hall," and so, those masked men were asked to leave. From day one, this regime has been trying to export the revolution to Bahrain by sending saboteurs to them and then to all countries.
We condemn the Iraqi aggression against Iran, but who was the cause of this aggression?
They are those who went to Mustansiriyah University in Iraq and tried to assassinate Tariq Aziz, and those who were saying every day that we are going to bring down Saddam. This is Iran's policy towards most countries!"
Please refer to the following YouTube link titled “An Iranian comments on Jubair’s response to an Iranian diplomat.”
The UAE is not a passive actor in this equation. It is a sovereign nation with a sophisticated understanding of its vulnerabilities as a small, wealthy state in a volatile neighborhood. Its leadership has deliberately cultivated a defense relationship with the United States, and other, as part of a broader hedging strategy. This partnership provides access to advanced technology and intelligence sharing that no other power can currently replicate. Abandoning this arrangement would leave the UAE’s economy more exposed, not less, and would signal to Iran that its strategy of coercion yields results.
The proposal misinterprets the nature of the conflict. The ongoing tensions are not a bilateral dispute between Iran and the US that happens to be playing out on Emirati soil. They are a regional power struggle in which the UAE is itself a primary target of Iranian coercion. The attacks on Emirati assets, whether civilian vessels or critical infrastructure, are aimed at the UAE directly, intended to intimidate it and force a shift in its foreign policy. Closing US bases would be interpreted by Tehran not as a gesture of peace, but as a victory for its campaign of pressure, likely inviting further demands and greater intimidation.
If the UAE were to expel US military forces, Iran would not hold a parade the following day heralding a new era of peace. On the contrary, like any thuggish regime, its leadership would look at a suddenly isolated and vulnerable UAE and think, 'What a strategic gift. They’ve just dismantled the only deterrent that gave us even a moment's pause. Now, let's turn up the pressure on their shipping lanes, their oil infrastructure, and their sovereignty.' The bases are not a provocation; they are, as we witness today, the world’s most expensive training academy and a high-tech insurance policy rolled into one.
Suggesting the UAE close US bases to stop Iranian attacks isn't a policy proposal, it's a surrender dressed up as a strategy. It's the diplomatic equivalent of setting your own hair on fire to keep warm.
In conclusion, the suggestion that the UAE should close US bases to stop Iranian attacks mistakes a symptom for the cause. The bases are not the source of regional instability; they are a manifestation of the region's response to it. A more accurate assessment recognizes that for the UAE, the American military presence is not an incitement to conflict, but an essential component of its national security in the face of a persistent and ambitious threat.
