The United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday the dispatch of an ambassador to Tehran, six years after the reduction of its diplomatic representation in support of Saudi Arabia, with the will of the wealthy Gulf state to “strengthen relationshipswith Iran.
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Several Gulf countries had reduced the level of their diplomatic representation in Iran in 2016, after the ransacking of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran by demonstrators protesting against the execution by Riyadh of a prominent Shiite religious leader, Nimr al -Nimr.
In July, Abu Dhabi, which is carrying out a new diplomacy of rapprochement with its former rivals such as Turkey, announced its intention to appoint an ambassador to Tehran soon, within the framework of this policy of “de-escalation” in the Middle-East.
“The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Islamic Republic of Iran will resume his duties in the coming days“, announced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Gulf country.
This initiative is part of theefforts of the United Arab Emirates to strengthen relationswith Tehran, he added, specifying that it was Saif Mohammed Al-Zaabi, the country’s former ambassador to Iran.
Its mission will be tohelp advance bilateral relations” in order to answer the “interests common to both countries and to the entire region“.
The Emirates have always maintained strong economic ties with the Islamic Republic.
The Emirates normalized their relations with Israel in 2020, while engaging in a policy of appeasement with their former rivals, such as Turkey, Qatar and Iran.
The new Kuwaiti ambassador presented his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian last week.