India, April 29 -- The UAE's exit from OPEC is as much about oil as about the future of intra-GCC and intra-Arab relations. OPEC's interests (read Saudi Arabia's) have ceased to align with Abu Dhabi's. Hit by Iranian missiles and drones more severely than Israel, the UAE has long chafed at the insipid response of its GCC and Arab partners. After years of weighing such a break, it has moved from intent to action, hinting at the path it will take in the post-war West Asia.

The timing was telling. Even as GCC leaders convened in Jeddah on 28 February for their first summit since war erupted, announced its exit almost in parallel. With Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairing the summit, the UAE was represented by a Deputy PM Abu Dhabiand F...