Emirati billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor wrote an open letter to the US president on Thursday Donald Trumpquestioning his authority to drag the Gulf and Middle East into an ongoing military conflict with Iran.The founder of Al Habtoor Group raised questions in the open letter, written in Arabic and shared on social media platform
The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday, targeting its leadership and military infrastructure. After the US-Israel attacks, Iran launched missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. Most of these missiles and drones were intercepted and destroyed.The UAE and its neighbors have been calling on all parties to end the conflict and engage in peace talks.“You have put the GCC and Arab countries into danger that they had no choice in. Thank God, we are strong and capable of defending ourselves. We have the army and defense forces to protect our homeland. But the question remains: who allowed you to turn our region into a battlefield?” Al Habtoor said.He said the U.S. decision to go to war with Iran threatened the people of the region and the American people, to whom he promised peace and prosperity.“Today, they find themselves locked in a war funded by their money and taxes, with the cost of direct military action ranging from $40 to $65 billion, according to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), and if it lasts four to five weeks, the damage including economic impact and consequential losses could reach $210 billion, not to mention the sacrifices made by Americans themselves in a war that has neither camels nor she-camels.“Al Habtoor Group has been outspoken in sharing its views on local, regional and global issues. He also funded a think tank to highlight hot-button issues and propose solutions.Habtoor said the US president had broken his promise not to get involved in the war.“During your second term, you ordered foreign military interventions in seven countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran and Venezuela, as well as naval operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. You directed more than 658 foreign air strikes in your first year in office, which is equivalent to the total number of air strikes during former U.S. President Joe Biden’s entire term, and you criticized the United States for engaging in foreign wars.“He warned the US president that his approval rating among Americans had dropped by about 400% in just 9 days as a result of these decisions.“These numbers make something clear: Even within the United States, there is growing concern about being drawn into a new war and putting American lives, the economy and the future at unnecessary risk… If these initiatives were initiated in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability,” Al Habtoor said.In another message shared on X, Khalaf Al Habtoor questioned who was responsible for the damage caused in the Gulf and the Middle East.“Who will pay the price for the tensions caused by a conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel in which we are not involved?” he said, adding that the entire region suffered the consequences of the war involving the three countries.“Our economy, our security and the stability of our people are not the place for settling scores between great powers. We are advocates of stability and peace and we have not chosen to be part of this confrontation. Yet we find ourselves paying the price for an escalation we did not cause,” he added.“The question that must be asked clearly today is: Who is responsible and who will compensate the countries and peoples in the region for the losses they have suffered as a result of conflicts in other countries? The region needs calm heads, not more inflammatory reactions,” he concluded.
