Iran attacks in Strait of Hormuz are ‘economic terrorism,’ UAE oil exec says
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), during India Energy Week in Goa, India, on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images
HOUSTON — The United Arab Emirates on Monday condemned Iran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a form of “economic terrorism” that holds the world hostage.
“Let me be absolutely clear, weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against a single country,” said CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
“This is economic terrorism against every country, and no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage – not now, not ever,” Al Jaber told oil industry executives at S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas. he said.
The Bosphorus is the most important sea route for oil in the world. Before the war, about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies were transferred to global markets through the narrow waterway. Tanker traffic came to a halt due to Iran’s attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf.
“While we all appreciate all efforts to stabilize markets and reduce prices, let us be clear; this is not a supply issue,” Al Jaber said. he said. “This is a security issue and has only one permanent solution: keeping the Bosphorus open.”
Al Jaber delivered his remarks via video message. The CEO was scheduled to attend the conference, but his attendance at the conference was canceled due to the war.
Kuwait Oil Company CEO Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah also canceled his in-person appearance at the conference on Tuesday due to the war. A spokesperson told CNBC he would make virtual remarks instead.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser also withdrew from the conference, a source told Reuters.
The United States and Israel launched a major offensive against Iran on February 28, killing Iran’s president Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. The two allies have been launching waves of air strikes targeting the Islamic Republic’s military capabilities for weeks.
Iran responded by attacking its Arab neighbors who did not join the US-Israeli attack. Tehran has launched 352 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and more than 1,700 unmanned aerial vehicles at the UAE since the start of the war, according to the Gulf country’s data. Department of Defense. 8 people died and 161 people were injured in the attacks.
“The United Arab Emirates was subjected to an illegal, irregular, unjustified and completely unprovoked attack,” Al Jaber said. he said. “We did not ask for this conflict. In fact, we took every possible step to prevent it.”
The war appeared to escalate further over the weekend when US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants if it did not allow traffic to resume across the Bosphorus.
Trump delayed those strikes for five days after the US held talks with Iran, which the US president described as “productive”. Oil prices fell nearly 11% on Monday as Trump’s sudden change of course raised hopes that the war could be resolved through negotiations. Prices have increased by more than 30 percent since the start of the war.
