The United Arab Emirates is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirates and was founded on 2 December 1971 as a federation, after UK armed forces left the region. Six of the seven emirates declared their union on 2 December 1971. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972. The seven sheikdoms were formerly known as the Trucial States, in reference to the truce treaties established with the British in the 19th century.
The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. They consist of the UAE Army, UAE Navy, UAE Air Force, UAE Presidential Guard, UAE Joint Aviation Command, and the UAE National Guard.
The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Arab Emirates are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as its capital. It shares land borders with Oman to the east and northeast, and with Saudi Arabia to the southwest; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran, and with Oman in the Gulf of Oman. As of 2024, the UAE has an estimated population of over 10 million, of which 11% are Emiratis; Dubai is its most populous city and is an international hub. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language, while English is the most spoken language and the language of business.
Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb are two small islands in the eastern Persian Gulf, close to the Strait of Hormuz. They lie at 26°15′N55°16′E and 26°14′N55°08′E, respectively, some 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from each other and 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Iranian island of Qeshm. The islands are administered by Iran as part of its Hormozgan province.
Abu Musa (Bu Musa) (Persian: بوموسا, IPA:[æbumu'sɒ] ) is an Iranian 12.8-square-kilometre (4.9 sq mi) island in the eastern Persian Gulf, found near the entrance of Strait of Hormuz. Due to the depth of sea, oil tankers and big ships have to pass between Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs, making these islands some of the most strategic points in the Persian Gulf. The island is under the administration of Iran, as part of the Hormozgan province.
The seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by the Imperial Iranian Navy took place on 30 November 1971, shortly after the withdrawal of British forces from the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, all located in the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The Imperial State of Iran had claimed sovereignty over both sets of islands, while the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah claimed the Greater and Lesser Tunbs and the Emirate of Sharjah claimed Abu Musa.
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East. Both countries are members of the I2U2 Group, which was established in 2021.
This article deals with territorial disputes between states of in and around the Persian Gulf in Southwestern Asia. These states include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman.
The relationship between the Russian Federation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stretches back to December 1971, when the Soviet Union and UAE established diplomatic relations. Relations between the two countries have been described as close and a "somewhat strategic partnership", with the countries cooperating closely in Iraq, Egypt and Libya.
Israel–United Arab Emirates relations traces its origins to the early days of the Oslo Accords, where Israeli and Emirati diplomats had contact with each other in the 1990s in Washington, D.C. The first diplomatic facility between the two countries opened in 2015, when Israel opened an official diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates share extensive cultural, military and economic ties, but relations have substantially deteriorated since Arab Spring, and later started to recover in the recent years.
Syria–United Arab Emirates relations refer to the relationship between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Syria. The UAE has an embassy in Damascus and Syria has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate-general in Dubai. Both countries are members of the Arab League, part of the Middle East region and share close cultural ties.
Eid Al Etihad, also known as UAE National Day, is celebrated annually on 2 December to celebrate the unification of the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, was added to the federation on 10 February 1972 making it the last emirate to join. This celebration is known as "eid-al-etihad".
The Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement, officially the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel, was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates on August 13, 2020, officially referred to as the Abraham Accords. The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel, as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so. Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries. The agreement was signed at the White House on September 15, 2020. It was approved unanimously by the Israeli cabinet on October 12 and was ratified by the Knesset on October 15. The UAE parliament and cabinet ratified the agreement on October 19. The agreement went into effect on January 5, 2021.
The Abraham Accords are bilateral agreements on Arab–Israeli normalization signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and between Israel and Bahrain on September 15, 2020. Mediated by the United States, the announcement of August 13, 2020, concerned Israel and the Emirates before the subsequent announcement of an agreement between Israel and Bahrain on September 11, 2020. On September 15, 2020, the signing of the agreements was hosted by US president Trump on the Truman Balcony of the White House amid elaborate staging intended to evoke the signings of historic formal peace treaties in prior administrations.
The 2022 Abu Dhabi attack was a terrorist attack against three oil tanker trucks and an under construction airport extension infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates conducted by the Houthi movement using drones and missiles. Although several missiles and drones were intercepted, 3 civilians were killed and 6 were injured by a drone attack.
The political history of the United Arab Emirates covers political events and trends related to the history of the United Arab Emirates.
Events in the year 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE–Israel land corridor is a primarily land-based trade route which runs from ports in Bahrain and United Arab Emirates across Saudi Arabia and Jordan, into Israel, and Egypt, leading from the Persian Gulf straight to Israel's seaports. The corridor was officially established on 13 December 2023.
