Emirati lawyer and commentator Dr. Habib Al Mulla stated in a video on August 15, 2026, that using an Emirati military force to escort ADNOC oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz is lawful under international law. The statement follows an August 8 attack in which Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps struck an ADNOC tanker with a missile, prompting the UAE Foreign Ministry to condemn the act as piracy.
Al Mulla’s video features an embedded quote from former UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash, who emphasized that renewed ship targeting will not change the UAE’s policy of caution and that the nation remains committed to freedom of navigation, dialogue, and rejecting militarized responses. No further details regarding the scale or timing of tanker escorts were provided in the post.