Iran, UAE hold first ‘face-to-face meeting’ since war: Report
Senior national security officials from Iran and the United Arab Emirates reportedly held a face-to-face meeting for the first time since the start of the US-Israeli war against Tehran, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
According to Bloomberg, this week’s meeting marked a stark turnaround for both sides and comes amid their growing acknowledgment of the importance of calmer bilateral ties, the people said, asking not to be named discussing sensitive matters.
During the recent military aggression, the UAE betrayed its Persian Gulf neighbor Iran and facilitated US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic. Meanwhile, reports said the Emirates conducted a series of “covert” attacks against Iran during the aggression.
Exercising its legitimate right to self-defense against the aggressors, Iran conducted retaliatory strikes on American bases and assets in the region, including those in the UAE.
Iran’s reprisal attacks dealt a major blow to the Emirates’ reputation as a financial haven for international investors and hit its economy hard.
The UAE’s leaders now want to keep their bold economic ambitions, including investing billions of dollars in increased oil production and in AI data centers, on track. The relationship is important for Tehran too, as the Persian Gulf nation was among the Islamic Republic’s biggest trading partners before the war began.
Since the war began in late February, Iran has attacked the UAE the most of any country. Abu Dhabi struck back on multiple occasions and has taken the most aggressive stance among its Arab neighbors toward the Islamic Republic. The UAE appears to be now following the same path as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have also been hit by Iran but are trying diplomacy to de-escalate tensions.
All three Arab states are conscious of the need to coexist with a neighbor across the Persian Gulf with a population of 90 million and significant military power, despite the extensive damage it’s suffered from the US and Israeli bombardment.
The only other known contact between the UAE and Iran during the war came in mid-April, shortly after a ceasefire. UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed spoke with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf about ways to ease tensions in the region.