PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 1st, 2026: First Gulf State Ready To Join The War & North Korea Hacks U.S. Software
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It's Wednesday, the first day of April. Welcome to the BDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the war with Iran could be expanding, as new reporting suggests the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, is preparing to join the fight and help force open the Strait of Hormuz. Later in the show, North Korean hackers slip malicious code into software used by thousands of U.S. companies in what could become a major crypto heist. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. As the White House sends mixed signals about how this war ends, talking about winding things down one moment and preparing options for boots on the ground the next, America's partners in the region are starting to make their own plans.
And now, for the first time, a Gulf state may be ready to enter the fight. New reporting from the Wall Street Journal indicates that the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, is preparing to support a US-led effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, a move that would mark a major shift in the war and potentially make the UAE the first country in the Persian Gulf to get on the offensive against the Iranian regime. According to Arab officials, the Emirates are actively lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorize military action to clear the waterway. At the same time, they're pushing the U.S. and its allies in Europe and Asia to form a coalition capable of breaking Iran's grip on the strait.
And importantly, even if that resolution fails, because of a likely veto from Russia or China, and by likely I mean of course Russia and or China will block the resolution, the UAE is signaling it may still be prepared to take part in a military effort to reopen the passage. This move by the UAE would represent a fundamental shift in posture. Before the war, the Emirates were trying to walk a careful line, maintaining economic ties with Iran, positioning themselves as a mediator, and avoiding direct confrontation. Dubai, in particular, has long served as a financial hub with deep links to Iranian business interests. But weeks of Iranian missile and drone attacks have changed that calculus. The UAE has been hit hard, hundreds of strikes targeting infrastructure, airports, and commercial centers.
The country's image as a stable, insulated hub in a volatile region has taken a hit. Tourism is down, air traffic has been disrupted, and the sense that they could stay out of the conflict has all but evaporated.
What new developments are emerging in the war with Iran?
Second, this signals a broader shift across the Gulf. Saudi Arabia and other regional players are increasingly aligning against Tehran. Bahrain is already backing the push for a UN resolution. And while some of these countries are still hesitant to commit their own forces, the political direction is becoming clearer. If the UAE steps in, it could provide something that the U.S. has been looking for, more direct regional buy-in, not just quiet support behind the scenes, but visible participation in the fight. And that would change the optics of the war in a significant way. But as we've been saying here on the PDB, reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force is far easier said than done. This isn't just about sending ships through and declaring the problem solved.
The strait is narrow, heavily surveilled, and sits right along Iran's coastline. Tehran has spent years preparing for exactly this scenario, stockpiling mines and deploying anti-ship missiles and building out fleets of fast attack boats and drones. So even if a coalition clears the waterway once, Iran doesn't need to shut it down permanently. It just needs one successful hit at some point to prove that it can shut it down. One successful strike, a tanker, a naval escort, even a near miss, and the entire flow of shipping could grind to a halt again. Insurance markets react, shipping companies pull back, and suddenly the strait is effectively closed, even if no formal blockade exists. That's the reality that the Gulf states are facing.
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