Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has broken his silence on the escalating Middle East conflict involving Israel, Iran and the United States, attributing the crisis largely to what he described as “chauvinism” among leaders in the region.
Speaking during the State House Iftar dinner on Thursday attended by a wide range of guests including members of the diplomatic corps, and Iran’s ambassador to Uganda, Museveni said he had initially refrained from commenting publicly when the fighting began last year but later issued a statement as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.
“Last year I put out—you know I am chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement. Up to now I am still chairman. But when the fighting started, I first kept quiet,” Museveni said. “After some time, I issued a statement where I really externalized what we have been talking quietly with all these people.”
Museveni argued that the root of the tensions lies in chauvinistic attitudes where each side believes it alone is right.
“The whole problem starts with what we call in English chauvinism. Everybody thinks he is the one who is right,” he said.
The Ugandan leader emphasized that his government maintains friendly relations with all parties involved in the conflict, including Israel, Iran and major Gulf states.
“The Israelis are our friends, the Iranians are our friends, the UAE are our friends, the Qataris are our friends, the Saudis, and the Americans,” he said.
Museveni revealed that he had previously raised the issue of a two-state solution with Israeli leadership, questioning why Israel cannot accept the arrangement widely proposed as a pathway to resolving the long-running Israeli–Palestinian dispute.
Uganda currently chairs the Non-Aligned Movement, a bloc of over 100 countries that traditionally positions itself as neutral in major geopolitical conflicts.
Museveni suggested that dialogue and mutual recognition remain the only viable path to peace in the region, warning that continued confrontation risks worsening instability in the Middle East.
The remarks mark one of Museveni’s most direct public comments on the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran and the broader involvement of the United States in the conflict.
