The United Arab Emirates has close and friendly relationship with the United States, 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.
Diplomatic relations
The United States is the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the UAE and has had an ambassador resident in the UAE since 1974. The two countries have enjoyed friendly relations with each other and have developed strong government-to-government ties including close security cooperation. The quality of U.S.-UAE relations increased dramatically as a result of the U.S.-led coalition's campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. UAE ports host more U.S. Navy ships than any port outside the U.S.
In the 2016 United States presidential election, the U.S. Justice Department accused George Nader of providing $3.5 million in illicit campaign donations to Hillary Clinton before the elections and to Donald Trump after he won the elections. According to The New York Times, this was an attempt by the government of United Arab Emirates to influence the election.
Leading the UAE Embassy in Washington, D.C. is Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, who presented his credentials in July 2008.
In December 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus to restore ties with the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad – a step that the UAE took against the wishes of the US. In January 2019, the UAE hosted a Syrian trade delegation that was led by a businessman, who was on the U.S. Treasury sanctions list since 2011.
On 20 September 2021, the Financial Times reported that the UAE was being squeezed between the competing interests of the United States and China. As the Emirati relations with China were intensifying, the Emirati alliance with the US began to face turbulence. The US raised concerns about the potential security implications of the UAE using Chinese Technology, such as Huawei’s 5G telecommunications network. Besides, China has been the biggest buyer of crude oil from the Gulf region. Moreover, it has been broadening its economic and political footprint across the Middle East, which has added some layers of tension to the UAE-US relations.
In November 2021, the US raised a warning for the UAE, alarming the Emirati government of a Chinese military presence in its country that could hinder ties. US intelligence agencies found that China was secretly building a military facility at a port in Abu Dhabi. Emirati authorities initially denied reports of the facility despite reports of a basketball court with a floor containing printed images of the flag of the Chinese Communist Party and flag of the People's Liberation Army. Following several American meetings and visits by US officials, the site construction was halted. Despite that, the US officials said that extensive Chinese presence in the UAE could also endanger the planned $23 billion deal of F-35 fighter jets, Reaper drones and other advanced munitions.
On 3 November 2021, Foreign Policy reported that the policies advanced by the UAE in the Middle East have been destabilising the region, violating international law and overthrowing attempts for democratic change. The Emirates has also repeatedly attempted to illegally interfere in US domestic politics at the highest levels. This point of view argued that such actions of the UAE have served to harm American interests in the Middle East and at home.
Two UAE-based firms have been named in a criminal complaint for the violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) committed by a dual US-Iran citizen, Kambiz Attar Kashani. Kashani's criminal complaint was filed in the federal court of Brooklyn for conspiring to illegally export US goods, services, and technology to the people of Iran and the government of Iran in association with two UAE-based front companies. The defendant allegedly used the two Dubai-based front organizations in order to procure items from more than one US technology firm. Kashani reportedly carried out the illegal transshipping scheme through the UAE front companies from February 2019 through to June 2021. The prime defendant, Kashani, and his co-conspirators intentionally concealed from the source US companies that the products and services will be sent to Iran, by fraudulently portraying that the end-users would be the said UAE front companies.
The United States sanctioned a UAE-based firm along with multiple Asian firms for aiding the illegal trading of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil to East Asia. The UAE firm involved namely, Blue Cactus Heavy Equipment and Machinery Spare Parts Trading was sanctioned by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 1 August 2022 for its assistance in petroleum trade on the behalf of an Iranian company, coincidentally a week before OPEC+ meetings. The Treasury Department did not comment on whether the penalties were potential enough to impact US need to acquire increased oil production from the UAE. US president Joe Biden’s administration used an August 2018 executive order as the authority for imposing the sanctions. The executive order was signed into existence by Donald Trump.
In 2018, a UAE princess, a US-French dual national and others were arrested by Indian and UAE soldiers in the Arabian sea, a few kilometres off the coast of India. The princess, Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, was then sent back to the UAE. She wanted to escape the oppressive UAE government. After the incident, there was a lot of criticism.
While the UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed considered the US a significant ally, he avoided visiting Washington since 2017. But, he had been elaborating ties with American rivals, including Russia and China. Between 2022 and 2023, MbZ visited Russia twice to meet President Vladimir Putin. Besides, in June 2023, the UAE was celebrated as the guest of honor at Putin's flagship investment forum, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). On the other hand, the UAE was also building ties with China, as the air forces of both the countries were planning to conduct a training together for the first time in August 2023. American officials had not been successful in influencing the UAE to move along with the American foreign policies, particularly in isolating Russia due to the Ukraine invasion and in limiting the Chinese military ties. Instead, the Emirates expanded its economy through imports of Russian money, oil, gold. Besides, a number of wealthy Russian oligarch started moving to real estates in Dubai. The UAE started to establish a stronger foreign policy following the Arab Spring uprisings, when it assisted other regional powers by sending military and arms. In 2014, the UAE initiated airstrikes in Libya, without giving any information to the US. However, major issues between the US and UAE emerged after a deal to purchase F-35 Fighter Jet was stalled in 2021. Following that, the UAE started relying on other nations to buy weaponry, including the L-15 trainer aircraft from China.
The inefficiency of the US sanctions against Russia was questioned by the former chairman of DMCC, Hamad Buamim, who said the sanctions did not showcase any impact outside the West. He said the attempt to stop business and trade has instead redirected it in a different way. Buamim said the sanctions were making trade more complicated and impacting the entire world. Meanwhile, Dubai was seen benefitting from the American and European efforts to isolate the Russia economy, as Switzerland's sanctions on Moscow pushed oil traders to shift from Geneva to the UAE.
In June 2024, the OFAC sanctioned three UAE companies involved in trade of Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products. The companies were Sea Route Ship management FZE, Almanac Ship Management LLC and Al Anchor Ship Management. The US also blocked 11 vessels, including ASTRA, BERENICE PRIDE, PARINE and others, which were associated with these companies.
On 20 September 2024, five lawmakers, including Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Daniel Kildee, and Sara Jacobs, sent a letter to White House and called upon the Biden administration to raise concerns with the UAE over its involvement in the Sudan conflict. The lawmakers praised President Joe Biden's efforts towards putting an end to the war, but stated that the Emirati actions could affect those efforts. The letter came ahead of the UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed's 23 September 2024 visit to the US. Marking the first ever meeting of an Emirati President to the White House, MbZ met Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris separately, discussing the future bilateral decisions. Joe Biden entitled the UAE as the US’ “Major Defence Partner”, following his meeting with the UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed in the White House. The decision was, however, opposed due to the UAE's involvement in wars in the Middle East and Africa, including the Yemen and Libya civil war. Biden's designation of the Emirates was also questioned over the UAE's increasing economic foothold in Africa, and its “secret” support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the Sudan war.
The UAE gave millions of dollars in donation to a US-based nonprofit organization, United Way of Collier and the Keys (UWCK). The donations were publicized as aid for post-hurricane recovery and coral reef restoration in Florida, under the Emirates’ environmental commitment. As per the US intelligence, these funds were a part of the Emirati efforts to influence the American Policymakers, launder the UAE's human rights records and suppress criticism of its intervention in regional wars. The UWCK served as the UAE's soft-power tool for covert operations by agents of the UAE security services. The organization didn't disclose full scale of the Emirati donations, while the UAE exploited “environment cause” as a new medium to influence and whitewash its image.
While the UAE was seeking to acquire the world's most advanced AI chips from the US, members of the National Security Council and other Trump administration officials were adopting foreign export policies that would restrict foreign access to these chips. However, in early April 2025, six security council officials, including David Feith, were fired by Trump, appointing David Sacks to undertake the negotiations. The Emiratis also started demanding for TSMC to build a chip factory in the UAE. Top officials were trying to block or modify the UAE's proposal, but Sacks and Steve Witkoff pushed for the AI deal to be completed. By mid-May 2025, the White House agreed to allow the UAE access to the advanced AI chips. The deal was finalized two weeks after Tahnoun bin Zayed claimed to invest $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm founded by Witkoffs and Trumps.