JERUSALEM, Israel – The United Arab Emirates on Sunday announced it is upgrading ties with Iran and plans to reinstate its ambassador to Tehran for the first time in six years.
The move is in line with the UAE’s efforts to “strengthen relations” with Iran and “achieve the common interests of the two countries and the wider region,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry confirmed that Ambassador Saif Mohammed Al Zaab will resume his duties in Iran “in the coming days.”
The UAE downgraded ties with Iran in 2016, in solidarity with Saudi Arabia, after Iranian protestors stormed the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran to protest Riyadh executing a prominent Shiite cleric. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries have long viewed Iran as a regional threat. Tensions rose further when the UAE supported the Trump administration’s 2018 unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal XXX, and campaign of heavy economic sanctions.
Just one year later, in 2019, the UAE signaled it had reconsidered its decision to isolate Iran and began re-engaging with Tehran after the Islamic republic was blamed for several attacks on Saudi oil facilities and oil tankers off the UAE coast.
Saudi Arabia also moved to improve ties with Iran last year and the two regional powerhouses have undergone five rounds of direct talks.
While Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to quell Iran’s ambitions for dominance in the Middle East, they also want to calm tensions as they focus on economic issues. Emirati officials have increased efforts to boost trade relations with Iran and decrease the threat of regional proxies.
They also are keeping a close eye on world leaders’ efforts to revive the Iranian nuclear deal, which they and Israel criticized for not addressing Iran’s missile program and influence in the region. Iranian and American diplomats are working now to finalize an agreement to revive the accord after 16 months of negotiations.
It is unclear what impact the UAE’s renewed ties with Iran will have on the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel formally normalize ties with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been trying to reassure Israel in recent days that it hasn’t made any new concessions to Iran, and that a nuclear agreement is not imminent. However Israeli officials are not convinced, according to Axios.
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