UAE envoy to UN urges de-escalation of US-Israeli war with Iran

GENEVA, March 9 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on Monday ​for a de-escalation of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and ‌a return to negotiations.

Oil prices have surged as some major producers cut supplies and stock markets have gone into a nosedive since the war ​began on February 28, and Iran has fired ​on Gulf states that host U.S. military bases, causing ⁠travel and business disruptions.

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“De-escalation, de-escalation, de-escalation. This is a standing ​position we have, and we will continue to offer that,” ​Ambassador Jamal Jama al Musharakh told reporters in Geneva.

The UAE is among the six Gulf states that have been subjected to Iranian drone ​and missile strikes since the war began.

There have been more ​than 1,400 attacks on the UAE in recent days that killed four ‌civilians ⁠and injured 114 others, the ambassador said.

The targeting by Iran of UAE civilian infrastructure, including desalination plants and energy facilities, was of concern and unacceptable, the envoy said.

“We are also ​fully prepared to ​protect these ⁠vital locations,” he added.

But UAE bases would not be used for attacks against Iran, he ​said, despite his country being targeted in an “unwarranted ​manner.”

U.S. ⁠officials mainly say Washington’s aim is to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities and nuclear programme.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was not ⁠interested ​in negotiations with Tehran and suggested the war ​would end only when Iran no longer had a functioning military or ​leadership in power.

Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Timothy Heritage

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