UAE, Iran in war of words over normalisation with Israel
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Sunday, August 16, summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires, and handed him a strong note of protest.
By Aditi Bhaduri
Just as it seemed that the UAE and Iran had begun a process of deescalation of tensions, passions on both sides have been inflamed again, this time over the UAE’s recent and sudden announcement that it had entered into a peaca agreement with Israel and both countries had started the process for the establishment for full diplomatic relations.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Sunday, August 16, summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires, and Khalifa Shaheen Al Marri, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Political Affairs handed him a strong note of protest.
The protest was against the threats contained in Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech regarding the UAE’s sovereign decisions, the Emirates News Agency WAM reported.
Speeches of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the Revolutionary Guard and other officials in Iran, had repeated the same.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation considered the speech “unacceptable and inflammatory” and which had serious implications for security and stability in the Gulf region.
The note warned of Iran’s responsibility to protect the UAE Mission in Tehran and its diplomats in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations “in the light of precedents of attacks on foreign diplomatic missions in Iran.”.
The last such attack had been on the Saudi mission in Tehran in 2016, in the wake of the execution of an influential Shi’i cleric in Saudi Arabia.
More recently, there have been missile launches from Yemen and Iraq on oil installations in the Gulf region, including on Saudi Aramco.
On Saturday, August 15, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had condemned the agreement between the UAE and the ‘Zionist regime of Israel’ to normalize ties, calling it a “great mistake” and “a treasonous act”, and warned the UAE “..lest it (agreement) finds a place for the Zionist regime in the region… then it will be different and they will be treated differently.”
Iran is also peeved with the fact that the ‘Abraham Accords’ – as the deal is formally called – has thrown up a diplomatic win fie US President Donald Trump and would increase his chances of an electoral win in the upcoming US presidential elections. Iran would like a Democratic win as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more popularly known as the Iran nuclear deal had been concluded under the Democratic Presidency of Barack Obama. Trump had pulled the US out of the JCPOA and slapped unilateral sanctions on the country, adding to Iran’s economic woes. In the wake of escalation of tensions in the Person Gulf, the Trump administration has also sanctioned individuals connected to Iran’s ruling regime.
Recently, all six member–states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had voted for the continuation of an Arma embargo against Iran in place. On Saturday, August 15, however, the United States found itself isolated on a UNUN Security Council vote on extending the embargo on Iran as 13 other UNSC members voted against. The embargo on conventional arms is due to expire on October 18.
Earlier this month the UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had held what was billed a rare video call with his Iranian counterpart Jawad Zarif where they had discussed regional issues and those related to Covid-19 pandemic in the region. Following it Zarif wrote on his Twitter “Just had a very substantive, frank and friendly videoconversation with UAE FM” Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan”, adding that “We agreed to continue dialogue on theme of hope, -especially as region faces tough challenges, and tougher choices ahead.” Even earlier the UAE had sent shipments of humanitarian supplies to Tehran for battling the coronavCoro outbreak there. Iran had been badly hit by the pandemic and US sanctions had made it tough for the Persian country to access medical and other aid.
All these conciliatory efforts might now come undone.
