During the Iranian nuclear negotiations, a rare visit by senior EMI officials to Iran, or a "turning point" in the relations between the two countries?

On the 6th, Iranian President Lehi met with the visiting National Security Adviser of the United Arab Emirates, Thanon Al Nashian. This is the first senior EMI official to visit Iran since the UAE lowered its diplomatic relations with Iran in 2016. The rare visit was also seen as a signal that relations between the two countries might be thawed. The outside world pointed out that with the resumption of a new round of Iranian nuclear negotiations, foreign policies are being re-coordinated among countries in the Middle East.

A "turning point" in relations between the two countries?

According to Iranian state television, when Al Nashian met with Lehi on the 6th, he discussed regional security affairs and other issues.

Lehi told Al Nakhian that maintaining good relations with regional countries is one of the diplomatic priorities of iran's new government, and Iran is willing to develop relations with the UAE.

Alenahian said the visit was expected to be a "turning point" in relations between the two countries. It is reported that Al Nakhian is the brother of Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

According to Iran's official presidential website, Al Nashian has sent an invitation to Lehi to visit the UAE. No Iranian president has visited the UAE since 2007.

Before meeting with Lehi, Al Nahi'am also held talks with Sharmhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on expanding bilateral relations and resolving regional issues.

Sharmhani said that the friendly relations between the two countries should not be affected by other countries. The Associated Press said he may be referring to the United States and Israel.

Shamhani also said that stability and security can only be established through sustained dialogue and cooperation among regional countries, and that "dialogue should replace military means to resolve disputes." In addition, improving economic, trade and investment relations is a major priority of Iran's foreign policy.

Reuters noted that the commercial ties between Iran and the UAE date back more than a century, and the UAE has also been Iran's "lifeline" to the outside world. However, in a series of geopolitical confrontations in the Middle East, including the war in Yemen, the two sides are divided into different camps.

Previously, due to the violent impact of Saudi Arabia's embassies and consulates in Tehran and Iran's second largest city, Mashhad, Saudi Arabia announced on January 3, 2016, that it had severed diplomatic relations with Iran, and the UAE subsequently "downgraded" diplomatic relations with Iran. Last year, with U.S. mediation, the UAE agreed to fully normalize relations with Israel, once again exacerbating tensions with Tehran.

However, in recent days, relations between the two countries have warmed up. Prior to Al-Nahi'an's visit to Iraq, Ali Bagheri, chief negotiator of the Iranian side on the Iranian nuclear issue, visited the UAE on November 26. Bagheri said at the time that Iran and the UAE had agreed to open a "new chapter" in bilateral relations.

Regional countries coordinate foreign policy

Iran and the Uae enter a "new chapter" as countries in the Middle East are surging undercurrents.

The Associated Press said that in the context of the resumption of the new round of Iranian nuclear negotiations, a series of political visits are being made between Middle Eastern countries.

Among them, the Syrian foreign minister visited Iran on the 6th and met with Lehi.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visited Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on the 6th, and the heads of state of the above six countries will attend the annual summit of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) to be held later this month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also visited Qatar on the 6th, according to people familiar with the matter, Erdogan may meet with the Saudi crown prince in Doha.

In this regard, some analysts said that due to the US government's policy correction in the Middle East and the impact of the epidemic on the economy, regional countries are coordinating their foreign policies.

The Devastating Economic Impact of COVID-19 and the Biden Administration's push to ease regional tensions in recent months are causing Leaders in the Middle East to reconsider their foreign policies and regional rivals to reconnect cautiously, according to the Financial Times.

In order to accelerate the economic recovery and promote the transformation of the economy away from oil dependence, the UAE has made easing tensions a priority. In addition to sending senior officials to visit Iran, the UAE has withdrawn its troops from Yemen, withdrawn from the Libyan civil war, ended the embargo on neighboring Qatar and eased tensions with Turkey.

Other Gulf states are also interested in adjusting their foreign policies. Some analysts said that the Saudi crown prince's visit to many Gulf countries is intended to bridge the differences within the GCC and coordinate its policy toward Iraq. Reuters previously said that the hasty withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has made the Gulf countries worry that the United States is "unreliable" and then test to improve relations with Iran.

On the other hand, Iran under the stick of U.S. sanctions also wants to improve diplomatic and economic relations with the region. After the Trump administration withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement in 2018, it restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iran, significantly reducing its oil exports. Analysts say Iran can no longer afford to lose trade routes such as Dubai.

How will the regional countries' policies toward Iraq develop in the future?

It was unclear how far Iran and the UAE were from fully restoring diplomatic relations, but trade between the two countries was expected to reach a ten-year high this year, according to the Financial Times. In the first eight months of this year's New Year (March 21 to November 21), the UAE was Iran's largest source of imports, with a total of $10.1 billion in imports, according to official Iranian data. The UAE is also the fourth largest destination for Iran's non-oil exports.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, for their part, may take longer to normalize relations. However, since the beginning of this year, Saudi Arabia and Iran have held four rounds of talks to improve bilateral relations, and tensions have eased.

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Column Editor-in-Chief: Yang Liqun Text Editor: Yang Liqun Caption Source: IC photo Image Editor: Xiang Jianying

Source: Author: Qiu Wenhan