Tehran slams UAE for treatment of Iran’s businesses in Gulf

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s foreign minister says the United Arab Emirates has adopted an “unacceptable approach” toward Iranian businesses operating in this Gulf Arab state.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency quotes Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying on Monday the UAE “has entered an unacceptable stage of approach toward Iran.”

Zarif said despite “extensive economic relations” between the two countries, the Gulf federation has had made “strategic and political mistakes, particularly over Yemen.”

The UAE backs the internationally recognized Yemeni government in the country’s ongoing civil war, while Iran supports its Houthi rebels.

Iranian media reports say many UAE-based Iranian businesses have moved to Qatar and Oman in recent years. The UAE was the top exporter to Iran for decades. In 2018, it became the second biggest exporter to Iran, after China.