'GCC countries won't enter this war': Dubai tycoon's fiery response to Lindsey Graham

A prominent UAE businessman has publicly rejected calls from U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham for Gulf countries to join the war in West Asia, saying regional states will not enter a conflict driven by the interests of outside powers.

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Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, founding chairman of the Dubai-based Al Habtoor Group, criticised Graham's remarks in a detailed post on X on Monday, accusing Washington of dragging the Middle East into a war without consulting its regional partners.

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"I heard the statements of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, in which he calls on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to enter this war, saying that we are also under attack and that we must join the fight," Habtoor wrote. "And I say to him clearly: We know full well why we are under attack, and we also know who dragged the entire region into this dangerous escalation without consulting those he calls his ‘allies’ in the region."

His remarks came after Graham predicted that Arab states could soon take a more direct role alongside the United States and Israel in the military campaign against Iran. "I've been on the phone all day with our Arab allies, and quite the opposite is unfolding," Graham told reporters last week after attending a classified Senate briefing on Iran. "The good news for me is I think the regional partners, the Arab partners, are going to be more involved, not less."

'We will not enter this war'

Habtoor said Gulf countries would not send their citizens into a conflict they did not initiate. "We do not deny the Iranian threat to the region, which has become clear in recent days. We do not trust Iran. But this is a dirty game in which several powers clash at the expense of our region."

"In this scene, Iran, Israel, and the United States all move according to their own interests, not according to the interests of the peoples of the Middle Eastern Arab countries," the tycoon said. 

He added that Gulf states would not sacrifice their citizens for the strategic objectives of others. "We will not enter this war to serve the interests of others, nor will we sacrifice our sons in a conflict that could have been avoided through diplomacy and political solutions. We value the lives of our sons, and we do not treat their souls as 'collateral damage' as some do."

Habtoor said alliances should not come at the cost of human lives. He said nothing in this world is more precious than the lives of their sons, "and no alliance with any country in the world is worth risking these lives."

Rejecting U.S. protection claims

Habtoor also rejected Graham's suggestion that Gulf countries rely on U.S. protection. "And I say to him (Graham): We do not need your protection. All we want from you is to keep your hands off us."

He also addressed remarks about U.S. arms sales to Gulf states. "The truth is that this is no favor from anyone. We invest in our security and pay billions of dollars for these weapons, and it is a massive trade and industry built on these deals."

Oil and geopolitics

Habtoor also criticised what he described as the economic motivations behind the war, pointing to comments Graham made about global oil reserves. "The clearest thing of all is what Senator Graham himself said when he spoke about oil," he wrote. "He stated that Iran and Venezuela together hold 31% of global oil reserves, and that the United States could establish a partnership with this share of the world's oil. Only then does the picture become clear. And only then do we understand why they want this war."