Tehran threatens to target Emirati energy projects alternative to the Strait of Hormuz

Official Iranian media outlets have issued direct threats to the United Arab Emirates, following reports revealing Abu Dhabi's intention to launch a new pipeline aimed at bypassing the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian sources considered any attempt to circumvent the international waterway to necessarily mean including these vital facilities in the list of military and operational targets in any upcoming confrontation, reflecting escalating tension in the regional energy security file.

These threats come after international press reports about the intention of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to build advanced infrastructure to transport gasoline and diesel directly to export ports without the need to pass through the Strait. This Emirati step aims to secure the flow of oil supplies and ensure their arrival to global markets away from the repeated security threats witnessed in the region recently, especially with the increasing intensity of regional polarization.

The UAE currently has a single pipeline connecting production fields to the port of Fujairah on the Arabian Sea, but its limited capacity of about 1.5 million barrels per day does not meet the state's full strategic ambitions. Through the new project, Abu Dhabi seeks to enhance its logistical flexibility, amid a growing conviction among Arab capitals that the security balances in the Strait of Hormuz have fundamentally changed and will not return to their former state before the outbreak of recent military tensions.

For its part, Tehran believes that these economic moves carry political dimensions aimed at weakening its influence and control over the most important waterway for oil trade in the world. Media sources affiliated with the Islamic Republic indicated that the countries of the region are now aware of the inevitability of searching for geographical alternatives, but warned that these alternatives will not be immune from Iranian missile or operational capabilities if the escalation continues in the region's thorny issues.

Building a new export pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz means creating a new target in Iran's attack bank.