Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has accused the US and Israel of attempting to ‘drive a wedge through the entire Islamic world’ with what he described as a ‘treacherous attack on Iran during the holy month of Ramadan’.
In his first public comment on the Iran war, Kadyrov also condemned the assassination of Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. He called his killing a ‘tragedy’, but stated that Iran’s retaliatory strikes on targets in other countries ‘cannot be justified’. According to him, attacks on civilian infrastructure and the deaths of civilians are unacceptable regardless of the circumstances.
The Chechen leader also paid particular attention to the UAE, which has regularly been targeted by Iran since the war began. He said that the country’s leadership ‘has never had military claims against its neighbours’, and that the UAE ‘is considered one of the safest and most stable countries in the world’.
He also addressed UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with a proposal to hold a meeting of representatives of Gulf countries in Chechnya. Kadyrov said that such a ‘major meeting’ could be used to coordinate the actions of states in the region.
Kadyrov claimed that the idea of such a format had been discussed earlier in 2026, and was proposed by the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain in Russia. He said that he postponed it at the time, insisting on the participation of the UAE as well.
Until now, representatives of the Chechen authorities had not officially commented on the military actions around Iran that began on 28 February. An exception was a statement by the commander of the Akhmat special forces unit, Apti Alaudinov, who expressed readiness to fight on the side of Iran.
Elizaveta Chukharova
In recent years, Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly met with the leadership of the UAE throughout several official visits. He held meetings with the Al Nahyan, during which the two discussed issues of cooperation and humanitarian projects.
In 2017, one of the central streets in Grozny was named after the UAE president.
In the same year, an international centre for memorising the Quran was opened in Grozny with financing from charitable organisations linked to the Emirates.
Representatives of Chechnya have also taken part in business and religious forums in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The authorities of the republic have stated plans to attract investment from Gulf countries in hotel construction, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Representatives of Gulf states regularly visit Grozny to take part in religious and humanitarian events and to discuss investment projects and cooperation in construction and tourism. In different years, delegations from Middle Eastern countries participated in Islamic conferences and religious forums held in Chechnya.
Kadyrov positions himself as a loyal ally of Riyadh, despite religious differences — he supports Sufism in Islam, whereas Saudi Arabia follows Wahhabism.
Representatives of the Qatari investment fund have also visited Chechnya multiple times. In July 2024, Kadyrov personally thanked Qatar’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, for supporting Chechen businesses.
According to an investigation by the Russian independent media outlet Important Stories (iStories, Vazhnye Istorii), the family of Ramzan Kadyrov owns property in Dubai. Journalists reported a villa worth around $14.4 million on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah. In addition, according to the same investigation, three villas on the mainland part of Dubai were purchased in October 2023 by the Chechen leader’s cousin, Shakhruddi Edilgiriev.
Important Stories also reported that businessperson Ruslan Baisarov, who is believed to have links to Kadyrov, and Kadyrov’s nephew, Khas-Magomed Taimaskhanov, also own property in the UAE.
Members of Kadyrov’s family regularly visit Dubai. His son Eli Kadyrov trains there with mixed martial arts fighters. In 2023, the Chechen leader’s children — Khadizhat Kadyrova and Akhmat Kadyrov — took part in the COP28 climate summit in the country.
Human rights defender Aleksandr Cherkasov, previously associated with the Memorial human rights centre, also said that members of Kadyrov’s entourage were in the UAE after the killing of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015.
According to iStories in March, Kadyrov sought security guarantees from various Middle Eastern leaders with whom he has long-standing relations, out of concern for his health and his family’s future. He attempted to keep these negotiations secret from the Kremlin, but Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) found out about the talks and reported them to Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading to tensions between Moscow and Grozny.
