Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), during India Energy Week on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 in Goa, India.
Dheeraj 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 is holding the world hostage.
“Let me be clear: the weaponization of the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against a country,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of 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 and never will,” Al Jaber told oil industry executives at S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas.
The Strait is the world’s most important oil shipping route. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies were delivered to world markets through narrow waterways. Iranian attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf have halted tanker traffic.
“While we all appreciate all efforts to stabilize the market and reduce prices, let me be clear: this is not a supply issue,” Al Jaber said. “This is a security issue and the only lasting answer is to keep the Straits open.”
Mr. Al Jaber conveyed his beliefs through a video message. The CEO was scheduled to attend the meeting, but canceled due to the war.
Kuwait Oil Corporation CEO Sheikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah also canceled his in-person attendance at Tuesday’s meeting due to the war. A spokesperson told CNBC that he plans to give virtual remarks instead.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser also withdrew from the meeting, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on February 28, killing the head of state Ayatollah Khamenei and other senior leaders. The two countries’ allies have launched waves of airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic’s military forces in recent weeks.
Iran responded by attacking its Arab neighbors, which did not participate in the U.S. and Israeli attacks. Iran has fired 352 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and more than 1,700 drones toward the UAE since the start of the war, according to the Gulf state’s defense ministry. The attack left eight people dead and 161 injured.
“The United Arab Emirates has been hit by an illegal, outrageous, unprovoked and completely unprovoked attack,” Al Jaber said. “We did not want this conflict. In fact, we did everything possible to prevent it.”
The war looked set to escalate over the weekend, when US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants unless it allowed traffic to reopen in the Strait.
President Trump postponed these strikes for five days after saying the United States had held talks with Iran and said they had been “productive.” President Trump’s sudden change in policy raised hopes that the war might be resolved through negotiations, sending oil prices down nearly 11% on Monday. Prices have soared by more than 30% since the war began.
