The National News

The National News is an Abu Dhabi-based English-language daily founded in 2008, owned by International Media Investments (IMI), a media group established by Abu Dhabi government decree. It serves an international readership across the Gulf and beyond, positioned as the English-language paper of record for the Arabian Peninsula. State ownership via IMI is editorially load-bearing for any reader assessing its sourcing: the outlet operates with evident editorial independence on many stories, but its institutional relationship to Abu Dhabi government positions it within UAE Foreign Policy constraints.

In the Iran-US conflict, The National secured an exclusive interview with Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, setting out Tehran's war conditions: a US halt to strikes, full regional military withdrawal, and reparations. Araghchi denied any back-channel contact with Washington. The National also reported Brent Crude settling at $105.30 on 25 April with an 18% weekly gain amid the wider market response to the conflict.

The outlet's access to senior Iranian officials reflects the UAE's diplomatic dual-track: Abu Dhabi maintains ties with Tehran while remaining inside the Gulf security architecture aligned with Washington. That structural position gives The National interviews Western outlets cannot obtain, published in English for a transatlantic audience. Readers should weigh the outlet's Iran war reporting with awareness that Abu Dhabi has specific exposure: UAE territory absorbed an estimated 83% of Iranian strikes in the early weeks of the conflict, giving Abu Dhabi a material interest in the shape of any settlement.