Algeria Severs Diplomatic Relations with UAE Amid Escalating Regional Strains

Algeria severed diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, citing years of escalating tension and accusing Abu Dhabi of meddling in domestic and regional affairs.

Issued on: 10/09/2026 – 15:47

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“Algeria has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after exhausting all avenues to preserve bilateral ties,” Algeria’s state television announced.

Algeria accused the UAE of “provocative and hostile acts,” though the foreign ministry provided no specifics in its statement.

“Algeria spared no effort to alert the Emirati side to the dire consequences of its regrettable and unjustified conduct,” the ministry stated.

‘No longer acceptable’

UAE authorities have not yet responded.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune has frequently described the UAE as a “micro-state” or “statelet” attempting to destabilize the region, pointing to Libya, Mali, and Sudan.

“Wherever they set foot, blood flows,” Tebboune said in a July televised interview. “We want them to stay away so that blood does not flow in our country.”

He added that a diplomatic rupture “would have happened long ago” if Algeria had not sought to prevent “deepening divisions” in the Arab world.

On Thursday, Algiers gave the UAE ambassador 48 hours to “comply with the decision”.

The foreign ministry stated it had warned Abu Dhabi repeatedly, but the UAE “persisted in its actions, reaching a point where they could no longer be considered acceptable or tolerable”.

Years of tensions

Tensions between the two nations have intensified due to several developments in recent years.

Last year, Algerian state media condemned a hostile media campaign after UAE-based Sky News Arabia aired an interview with historian Mohamed Amine Belghit, who made controversial remarks questioning Algeria’s indigenous Amazigh culture.

Belghit was initially jailed in Algeria but later pardoned by Tebboune.

Diplomatic divisions were further widened by the UAE’s normalization of ties with Israel in 2020.

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