Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Force in Play

Coordinating Gulf response with Saudi Arabia; warning of regional escalation

An Iranian drone slipped through UAE air defenses on Monday and ignited a fire at the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone, the bunkering hub through which much of the Gulf's refined fuel passes. Three foreign workers were injured, an Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) refinery shut down, and the country's Ministry of Education sent every school and university to remote learning through Friday. On Tuesday the air defenses fired again as a second wave of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones came in.

Updated 4 hours ago

Money Moves

Host and convener of high-profile polio funding drives

Global donors used a pledging event in Abu Dhabi on 8 December 2025 to commit US$1.9 billion to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), temporarily stabilizing a flagship global health campaign that is facing a 30% budget cut in 2026 and a multi‑year funding gap. The largest pledges — US$1.2 billion from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and US$450 million from Rotary International — narrow the shortfall in GPEI’s 2022–2029 strategy to roughly US$440 million but do not fully close it. The event comes as wild poliovirus transmission has resurged in Afghanistan and Pakistan and vaccine‑derived polio continues to spark outbreaks in under‑immunized communities worldwide.

Updated Dec 11, 2025