Iran Appoints First UAE Ambassador since 2016 as Gulf Relations Improve
In a realignment of relations between Gulf governments and Iran, Iran announced on Tuesday that it had appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates for the first time since 2016. The move came after the UAE upgraded relations and announced it was sending its ambassador back to Tehran in August.
As a result of Iranian protesters storming the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh’s killing of a prominent Shiite cleric in January 2016, Saudi Arabia terminated ties with Iran, and the UAE reduced relations with Iran.
In a significant reversal from years of hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and fueled conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria, Riyadh announced last month that it would re-establish relations with Tehran in a deal mediated by China.
After strikes in Gulf waters and on Saudi oil sites, the UAE, which has had business and trading connections with Iran for over a century, started re-engaging with Tehran in 2019.
One of Iran’s most critical external connections has always been the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
According to official Iranian media, Reza Ameri, Iran’s recently appointed ambassador, was previously the director general of the Iranian expatriate’s office at the foreign ministry.
