United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the UAE had emerged stronger from the conflict, despite efforts to avoid escalation.

“The UAE emerged victorious from a war we sincerely sought to avoid,” Gargash wrote on X, adding that the country was better positioned to navigate regional complexities and influence future developments.

In Oman, officials stressed the importance of mediation and sustained engagement, with the foreign minister pledging support for initiatives aimed at achieving “strong and enduring regional security.”

Omani authorities urged Washington and Tehran to pursue serious negotiations to secure a durable peace.Saudi Arabia also backed diplomatic efforts, with its foreign ministry emphasizing the need for an agreement that addresses underlying causes of instability and long-term threats to regional security.

The responses highlight a broader regional push to consolidate the ceasefire into a lasting settlement, amid concerns over the potential for renewed tensions and the wider impact on Middle East stability.

Dr. Alajmi began his post by recalling some of the darkest episodes in recent Islamic history: “Iran attacked peaceful worshippers in the Grand Mosque in Makkah more than once.” He referenced the 1987 tragedy during Hajj when Iranian pilgrims staged a violent protest, leading to hundreds of deaths.

“In 1987, it attempted to occupy the Grand Masjid,” he wrote, a reference to the violent confrontation in which Saudi security forces and foreign pilgrims perished. “In 1989,” he continued, “it killed many and smuggled weapons and explosives with the intention of ruining the Masjid and terrorizing pilgrims.”

Dr. Alajmi then traced what he called Iran’s “trail of terrorism” throughout the region, beginning with its actions in the Gulf. “Iran bombed Kuwait several times, practised terrorism, hijacked aeroplanes, and attempted to assassinate its emir in the 1980s,” he wrote. He further highlighted Iran’s enduring occupation of three Emirati islands, calling attention to the UAE’s long-standing territorial dispute with Tehran over Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs.

In one of his more poignant statements, he turned to the region of Ahwaz, a majority-Arab area in Iran. “Iran occupied Ahwaz—13 times the area of Palestine—killed its people, tortured them, and plundered their wealth.” He emphasized that this forgotten region suffers systematic oppression despite being rich in oil and resources. “Its people are Arab Muslims, yet they remain forgotten,” he implied.

Turning to Syria, Dr. Alajmi condemned Iran’s military presence and support for Bashar al-Assad: “Iran occupied much of Syria, killed hundreds of thousands, tortured them in various ways, and displaced millions.” In Yemen, he declared, “Iran occupied Sana’a, displaced its people, and killed many Yemenis,” referring to Tehran’s backing of the Houthi militia.

On Iraq, he was equally harsh: “Iran occupied Iraq, displacing millions of its people, killing hundreds of thousands, and spreading corruption throughout all parts of Iraq.” He accused Iranian influence of hollowing out Iraqi state institutions, eroding sovereignty, and fueling sectarian divisions.

Dr. Alajmi did not stop there. “It caused murder in Lebanon,” he said, citing Tehran’s support of Hezbollah and its political interference. He also referenced Bahrain, saying Iran “moved its proxies… where they killed, burned, and destroyed until the state almost collapsed.”

All of this, he warned, cannot be dismissed as isolated events. “Much, much more corruption was spread by successive Iranian governments,” he wrote. For him, the consistent pattern of aggression points to a broader agenda of domination under the guise of revolution and resistance.

In a striking and controversial turn, Dr. Alajmi drew a direct comparison between Iran and Israel. “In contrast, the Zionists occupied Palestine,” he wrote. “Which of the two is more corrupt and corrupting in our Islamic and Arab world? And which of the two is more evil?”

By posing this comparison, he challenged a long-standing dogma in Arab political discourse—that Israel alone is the region’s primary source of suffering. His words reflect a growing Gulf sentiment that questions Iran’s ideological hypocrisy: using the Palestinian cause as a cover while destabilizing Arab states and targeting Sunni populations.

His post has resonated widely, especially among Gulf citizens who have lived through decades of Iranian-backed unrest. In an age of shifting alliances and increasing calls for regional self-determination, Dr. Alajmi’s message is a call for clarity: “We must confront the real source of destruction in our region—not just the familiar enemy, but the one cloaked in religious slogans and revolutionary slogans.”

Shaykh Dr. Daghash ibn Shabib Al-Ajmy is a prominent Salafi scholar from Kuwait. He holds a PhD in Usool ud-Deen from Kuwait University and has served as an imam, khateeb, and professor since 1999. He studied under renowned scholars such as Shaykh Ibn Baz, Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen, and Shaykh Rabee’ al-Madkhali. Dr. Al-Ajmy has authored and verified several respected Islamic works, and holds ijazaat in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim from over ten senior scholars.

Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to help quell a countrywide uprising after deadly violence spread across the tightly controlled former Soviet state. read more

“The political situation in Kazakhstan is becoming increasingly tense,” Commerzbank said.

“And this is a country that is currently producing 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.”

There were no indications that oil production has been affected so far.

Libyan oil output is at 729,000 bpd, the National Oil Corp said on Thursday, down from a high of more than 1.3 million bpd last year, owing to maintenance and oilfield shutdowns.

Prices rallied despite a surge in U.S. fuel stocks last week.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week while gasoline inventories surged by more than 10 million barrels, the biggest weekly build since April 2020, as supplies backed up at refineries because of reduced fuel demand.

Weighing on oil, meanwhile, were minutes from a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that showed policymakers could raise interest rates more quickly than markets previously expected.


OPEC+, a group that includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers, agreed on Tuesday to add another 400,000 bpd of supply in February, as it has done each month since August.

The increase in OPEC’s output in December has again undershot the rise planned under the OPEC+ deal, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, highlighting capacity constraints that are limiting supply as global demand recovers from the pandemic.

“Our reference case now assumes the alliance will fully phase out the remaining 2.96 million bpd of oil production cuts by September 2022,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note.

The bank forecast Brent prices to average at $88 a barrel in 2022, up from $70 last year.

Meanwhile, the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, cut the official selling price for all grades of crude it sells to Asia in February by at least $1 a barrel, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, a major oil producer, is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The plant was originally due to open in 2017 but start-up of its first reactor was repeatedly delayed.

ENEC said its subsidiary Nawah Energy Company “has successfully started up Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the Al Dhafrah Region of Abu Dhabi.”

The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, wrote on Twitter that nuclear fuel had been loaded into the first of four units of what he called “the first peaceful nuclear energy reactor in the Arab world.”

“We are now another step closer to achieving our goal of supplying up to a quarter of our nation’s electricity needs and powering its future growth with safe, reliable, and emissions-free electricity,” ENEC’s chief executive Mohamed Ibrahim al-Hammadi said.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), which issued an operating licence for the plant in February, said Nawah met all regulatory requirements to start operations, after regular inspections and oversight to ensure the plant’s safety.

When completed Barakah will have four reactors with 5,600 megawatts (MW) capacity. The UAE has not disclosed the total planned investment in the project.

The Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi, a major oil producer, is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). The plant was originally due to open in 2017 but start-up of its first reactor was repeatedly delayed.

ENEC said its subsidiary Nawah Energy Company “has successfully started up Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the Al Dhafrah Region of Abu Dhabi.”

The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, wrote on Twitter that nuclear fuel had been loaded into the first of four units of what he called “the first peaceful nuclear energy reactor in the Arab world.”

“We are now another step closer to achieving our goal of supplying up to a quarter of our nation’s electricity needs and powering its future growth with safe, reliable, and emissions-free electricity,” ENEC’s chief executive Mohamed Ibrahim al-Hammadi said.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), which issued an operating licence for the plant in February, said Nawah met all regulatory requirements to start operations, after regular inspections and oversight to ensure the plant’s safety.

When completed Barakah will have four reactors with 5,600 megawatts (MW) capacity. The UAE has not disclosed the total planned investment in the project.