UAE willing to join international force to reopen Strait of Hormuz – report

UAE plans to join a multinational taskforce to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid repeated Iranian attacks, seeking international support to secure the vital waterway that carries 20% of global oil. Efforts include a proposed U.N. mandate, though major powers like Russia and China may oppose it.

REUTERS

27 March 2026 at 08:13:07

UAE willing to join international force to reopen Strait of Hormuz – report

A map showing the Strait of Hormuz is seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026.

Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

The United Arab Emirates has informed the U.S. and other Western allies that it would participate in a multinational maritime taskforce aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the UAE is urging dozens of countries to form a “Hormuz Security Force” to defend the strategic waterway from Iranian attacks and provide escort for shipping.

The UAE has faced more Iranian attacks than any other country in the region, including Israel.

Several U.S. allies, however, have indicated they do not have immediate plans to deploy ships to reopen the strait, rejecting a request from former U.S. President Donald Trump for military support to keep the vital passage open.

France said Thursday it had held talks with around 35 countries to seek partners and proposals for a mission to reopen the strait—but only after any U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran conclude.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. The disruption has driven up energy prices and raised concerns over global inflation.

The UAE is also working with Bahrain on a U.N. Security Council resolution to provide any future taskforce with a legal mandate, though Russia and China could oppose such a move, the report said.

Members of the U.N. Security Council have begun negotiating resolutions to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including a Bahraini draft that would authorize the use of “all necessary means,” Reuters reported earlier this week.

Last week, a senior Emirati official said the UAE might join a U.S.-led effort to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran largely shut the waterway to commercial vessels.

The strait is vital to the UAE’s economy, which relies heavily on oil exports and trade. Iran has repeatedly targeted an Emirati port located outside the Gulf that is used to load oil exports.

Reuters could not immediately verify the Financial Times report.

-Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul and Michael Perry/Reuters