The Price of Playing with Fire: An Economic Reckoning of the United Arab Emirates.
Fitch expects Dubai's economy to shrink by nearly 5% in 2026 due to the Iran war, with the UAE growing at just 0.5% and foreign reserves falling from $300 billion to $265 billion. The non-oil economy - trade, tourism, aviation, finance - was hit hard. A report in the Wall Street Journal claimed that Emirati forces had carried out dozens of airstrikes on Iranian facilities. For a country built on stability, the contradiction is stark: the regional security that makes the UAE attractive is undermined when its territory becomes part of a campaign against Iran.