UAE reaches out to Iran, plans to send new ambassador to Tehran
"The next decade cannot be like the previous decade. It [the coming decade] is a decade in which 'de-escalation' should be the key word," said Anwar Gargash, the UAE president's chief diplomatic adviser. The 'zero problems' strategy that, it seems, will define Abu Dhabi's next moves towards its neighbours in the region. Including the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Accordingly, and as reported by the Emirati news agency WAM, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Iranian counterpart Hussein Amir-Abdollahian held telephone talks on Wednesday aimed at "boosting bilateral relations and areas of joint cooperation for the common benefit of both countries". This was backed up by statements by Emirati foreign minister Bin Zayed, who said he wanted to "restore the warmth of relations between the two countries and open new horizons for relations, especially in the face of new security and stability challenges in the region".
Sending a new Emirati ambassador to Tehran, after almost six years without diplomatic representation in the Islamic Republic, is seen as one of the tools Abu Dhabi will make use of. It is important to "raise the level of diplomatic representation between the two countries in a way that enhances the expansion of bilateral relations", Bin Zayed said after the phone call with Abdollahian. His Iranian counterpart, meanwhile, took the opportunity to praise "the positive attitude of senior officials of the two countries on their bilateral ties".
The UAE's strategic shift - part of a complicated balance between its alliance with the US superpower, its recent partnership with Israel and its policy of détente towards Iran, Abu Dhabi's historic regional adversary - appears to be driven by economic motivations. "Economics is one of the tools to build greater mutual trust. We have to use economics in various fields to push for a major political de-escalation," explained Anwar Gargash.
In this sense, the Emirati government has also opened new channels of communication with other powers such as Turkey and Qatar, and has called on the Gulf states to engage in "collective diplomacy" to reach the nuclear deal with Iran that the Western powers are unable to seal.
The announcement of the Iranian-Emirati rapprochement comes shortly after Joe Biden's Middle East tour resulted in the signing of a security agreement between the US and Israel, closing ranks against Tehran. The pact, sealed just a day after Biden said he was open to the use of force as a "last resort", commits both sides to deny Iran nuclear weapons and symbolises the unity of the alliance.
However, Abu Dhabi has rejected any confrontation in any future scenario. "We are open to cooperation, but not cooperation directed against any other country in the region, and I specifically mention Iran," Gargash said. Despite the Emirate's interest in a security alliance linking the air defence systems of all Gulf countries against drone and missile attacks, the Emirati president's diplomatic adviser said that the country "will not be part of any group that sees confrontation as a direction, although we do have serious problems with Iran and its regional policy" that they hope to resolve through diplomacy.
"We have one eye open. We are very clear that if something defends the UAE and its civilians, of course we are open to these ideas, but not to the idea of creating any axis against this or that country," he added.
The revival of official and unofficial talks between Emirati and Iranian representatives, as well as economic relations between the two powers, have been accompanied by Tehran's rapprochement with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, it is not only Abu Dhabi but also Kuwait that "intends to send its ambassadors to Tehran in the near future". Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has held "five rounds of security talks" which Iraqi sources (mediators in the indirect dialogue between Riyadh and Tehran) appear to have informed the Iranian minister "will be turned into public political negotiations" in the near future.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani explained during a press conference that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on the sidelines of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, expressed his interest in holding a forthcoming meeting with Iran on Iraqi territory, officially, openly and at a political level.
"This is a positive sign, and we believe that, due to the positive willingness of the parties to move forward, the ground is paved to have the next meeting at the political and official level in Baghdad, being a tangible step towards the resumption of diplomatic ties," Kanani stressed without specifying the date of the meeting, or whether the political level will mean a meeting between the foreign ministers.