A senior UAE official has suggested the conflict with Iran may move out of its most perilous phase “sooner rather than later”, even if the wider war takes longer to formally end.

Speaking earlier, the official said: “At the end of the day, this war will end, and my reading is… the danger of it will end sooner rather than later. But the formal end of the war might take a little bit longer.”

The official warned, however, that even after the fighting stops, the political damage could be long-lasting. Relations between Iran and the Gulf Arab states it has targeted will ultimately have to normalise because “you are neighbours”, he said — but the trust gap created by the war could take “decades” to repair.

He added that any future negotiated settlement would need to address Iran’s missile programme, arguing missiles have now become “centre stage” and are no longer viewed in the region purely as self-defence.

The UAE has been among the countries reporting repeated incoming missiles and drones, and the official said the scale of the attacks was not expected — particularly given the risk to Iran’s ties with its neighbours.

He also said France is assisting with air patrols and interception efforts, and claimed the UAE has been preparing contingency plans for a long time, including maintaining sufficient food stocks.