Iran announced yesterday, Tuesday, that it has appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates for the first time since 2016, as relations between the Gulf countries and Iran have improved.

This move follows the announcement by the United Arab Emirates in August with regard to upgrading the relations between the two countries and the return of their ambassador to Tehran.

The UAE had downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Tehran in January 2016, when Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

In a turnaround in years of hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia that threatened stability and security in the Gulf and fuelled conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria, Riyadh announced last month that it would restore relations with Tehran following an agreement brokered by China.

The UAE, whose business and trade ties with Iran go back more than a century, began re-engaging with Tehran in 2019 following attacks on Gulf waters and Saudi energy facilities.

Dubai, one of the emirates of the UAE, has long been one of Iran’s main links to the outside world.

Iran’s newly-appointed ambassador to the UAE, Reza Ameri, had served as Director-General of the Iranian expatriate office at the Foreign Ministry, according to Iranian state media.

Source: APA MPA

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