The UAE leadership has intensified diplomatic efforts following recent missile attacks in the region, with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan holding a phone call with the US president Donald Trump to discuss the unfolding developments.

According to a report by state news agency WAM, the two leaders reviewed the latest regional developments and their implications for both regional and international security and stability.

Read more-Iran’s president says his country will suspend strikes on GCC neighbours

The call also addressed the continued blatant Iranian attacks targeting the UAE and other countries in the region, representing a violation of the sovereignty of these countries and a threat to regional security and stability, a WAM report said.

The conversation underscored the growing international concern surrounding the escalation and its potential impact on the broader Middle East.

Foreign minister leads global diplomatic engagement

In parallel with the presidential call, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, held a series of phone calls with a number of foreign ministers and officials to discuss the latest regional developments and the repercussions of the unprovoked Iranian missile attacks on the UAE and several countries in the region.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held discussions with Ayman Al Safadi, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Sabine Monauni, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Liechtenstein; Sergey Lavrov, minister of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation; Nasser Bourita, minister of foreign affairs, african cooperation and moroccan expatriates of the kingdom of Morocco; Dr Badr Abdelatty, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, emigration and egyptian expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, minister of foreign affairs of the kingdom of Bahrain; Giorgos Gerapetritis, minister of foreign affairs of Greece; Nikos Dendias, minister of national defense of Greece, and Maria Malmer Stenergard, minister of foreign affairs of the kingdom of Sweden.

The calls addressed the serious repercussions of these developments on regional security and stability and their negative impact on the global economy and energy security.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the ministers strongly condemned these unprovoked missile attacks, which constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations and pose a direct threat to security and sovereignty of states, as well as regional stability.

They also affirmed the right of the targeted countries to take the necessary measures to safeguard their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the safety of their citizens, residents, and visitors, in accordance with international law.

Safety assurances and push for diplomacy

During the calls, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his appreciation for the solidarity and support shown by brotherly and friendly countries towards the UAE, affirming that all residents and visitors are safe.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the ministers also discussed the importance of strengthening international cooperation and joint efforts to preserve regional security and stability.

Furthermore, they underscored the importance of advancing diplomatic solutions to resolve the current crisis, preserve regional security and stability, and fulfill the aspirations of the region’s peoples for inclusive development and sustainable economic prosperity.

The coordinated diplomatic outreach highlights the UAE’s efforts to rally international support while emphasising stability, security, and dialogue in the face of escalating tensions across the region.

Bapco Energies BSC (Closed), Bahrain’s integrated energy company, has declared force majeure on certain group operations following the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and a recent attack on its refinery complex, Bahrain News Agency reported.

In a statement, the company said the decision was taken after the incident affected parts of its operations, though it did not specify the extent of the disruption.

Bapco Energies emphasised that domestic fuel supply remains secure, noting that contingency measures have been activated to ensure uninterrupted deliveries to the local market.

The company said all local demand is being met in line with its proactive supply continuity plans, with no impact expected on the availability of fuel within Bahrain.

Bapco Energies added that it remains committed to maintaining transparent communication with stakeholders and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.

Just last week, Qatar declared force majeure on its gas exports.

NETSCOUT Systems has released its DDoS Threat Intelligence Report for the second half of 2025, revealing a surge in large-scale, coordinated cyberattacks driven by increasingly sophisticated threat actors, resilient botnets and compromised IoT infrastructure.

According to the report, more than eight million distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks were recorded globally across 203 countries and territories during the period. Some attacks reached unprecedented scale, peaking at 30 terabits per second (Tbps), signalling a new phase of hyper-scale cyber threats that continue to challenge global mitigation efforts.

The report also highlights the rapid growth of DDoS-for-hire services, which are lowering the barrier to entry for cybercriminals and enabling a wider pool of threat actors to launch attacks. This trend is increasing operational risk for enterprises and digitally connected organisations worldwide.

Beyond sheer attack volume, NETSCOUT warns that adversaries are increasingly deploying reconnaissance techniques and adaptive evasion strategies that undermine traditional defence models. The company says organisations must adopt intelligent, automated protection systems to keep pace with evolving threats.

“Threat actors identify organizations that haven’t invested in the right defenses to stay ahead of sophisticated and coordinated DDoS attacks to take down critical infrastructure,” stated Richard Hummel, director, threat intelligence, NETSCOUT. “Traditional security defenses are no longer working, and with attackers hitting new attack size and complexity ceilings, implementing automated and proactive defenses has become a business-level risk mandate – not just a technical concern for security professionals.”

The report identifies several major trends shaping the current DDoS threat landscape. Multi-vector attacks remain common, with around 42 per cent of incidents using two to five different attack methods simultaneously, and some dynamically adapting during the attack to complicate detection and mitigation.

Researchers also observed large-scale outbound attacks originating from compromised IoT devices and customer-premises equipment. In some cases, these attacks generated traffic exceeding 1 Tbps, posing potential liability, service disruption and reputational risks for broadband and mobile service providers.

Critical internet infrastructure continues to be heavily targeted, particularly services such as NTP and DNS, underscoring the need for resilient, globally distributed architectures capable of maintaining service continuity.

The report also highlights growing collaboration among threat actors. In July 2025 alone, more than 20,000 botnet-driven attacks were recorded, demonstrating how coordinated campaigns can quickly overwhelm defences and disrupt services across sectors including government, finance and transportation.

Despite international law enforcement efforts to dismantle several DDoS-for-hire platforms, hacktivist groups and botnets remain highly resilient, maintaining sustained pressure on global networks.

NETSCOUT also warns that artificial intelligence is accelerating cyberattack capabilities. Large language models are increasingly being used on dark web platforms to support vulnerability exploitation and botnet expansion, while underground forums have recorded a 219 per cent increase in discussions related to malicious AI tools.

Groups such as Keymous+ have demonstrated how partnerships between threat actors can amplify attack capabilities, with observed bandwidth capacity increasing nearly fourfold.

NETSCOUT’s intelligence is derived from direct observation of global internet traffic across its monitoring infrastructure. The company said it protects roughly two-thirds of the routed IPv4 internet space, securing network edges that carried peak traffic exceeding 800 Tbps in the second half of 2025.

During the reporting period, the platform monitored tens of thousands of daily DDoS attacks across 376 industry sectors and 12,698 autonomous system numbers (ASNs), tracking activity from multiple botnets and DDoS-for-hire services that leverage millions of compromised devices.

Read: UAE thwarts terrorist cyber attacks on vital sectors

Silal, Abu Dhabi’s agri-food and technology company, is expanding operations in Ras Al Khaimah in collaboration with the National Agricultural Center to support local farmers and strengthen national food security.

The first phase of the initiative starts on March 9 in the Al Hamraniyah area, where the partnership will work with local farms to enhance agricultural production, improve productivity, and facilitate marketing of Emirati produce.

The programme will provide farmers with technical assistance, best-practice agricultural inputs, and guidance on post-harvest handling and marketing.

A dedicated crop collection centre will also be established to streamline the receipt, distribution, and sale of agricultural products.

Contributing to broader food security goals, Silal GCEO says

Dhafer Al Qasimi, group CEO of Silal, said the collaboration aimed to empower local farmers and expand the presence of Emirati agricultural products in local markets, contributing to the UAE’s broader food security objectives.

Sultan Salem Al Shamsi, director of the National Agricultural Center, said the initiative reflects the centre’s commitment to advancing the UAE’s agricultural sector and enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of local farming.

The partnership is part of wider national efforts to integrate production, marketing, and distribution across the UAE’s agricultural supply chains, supporting local farmers and reinforcing the resilience of the sector.

Silal is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with investments spanning Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy.

Read: World food prices rebound in February, United Nations’ FAO says

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Saturday it is actively managing offshore output levels to address storage requirements amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, while its onshore operations are continuing.

“This approach preserves operational flexibility and will enable the company to resume normal operations without prolonged delay,” ADNOC said in a statement.

The war, now in its eighth day, has blocked shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway responsible for roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG supply.

Analysts have predicted the UAE and Saudi Arabia would soon have to cut output as their oil storage fills up.

ADNOC said its operations are continuing, and that it is using export capacity that bypasses the strait as well as international storage facilities to ensure supply continuity to global markets.

Saudi state oil giant Aramco is temporarily diverting some crude shipments to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to ensure supply continuity for customers unable to access the Gulf, Saudi state media said on Saturday. Reuters reported on Friday that its shipments from the Red Sea are increasing but the volumes are far from enough to offset the drop from the crisis-hit strait.

“Business units are assessing the situation on a product-by-product and transaction-by-transaction basis, considering the ongoing disruption that is affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” it said.

ADNOC has activated well-established protocols and is working closely with authorities to protect its people, assets and operations, it added.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation began cutting oil output on Saturday and declared force majeure, adding to earlier oil and gas reductions from Iraq and Qatar.