United Arab Emirates suspends trade with Iran
The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade with Iran on Wednesday after it said it had come under renewed fire from the country - a move that will further isolate the Islamic Republic, which is suffering under US sanctions and a blockade.
Incoming ballistic missile fire triggered nationwide warnings Tuesday night for UAE residents to seek shelter, the first time in weeks such an alarm had sounded.
Early in the conflict, the UAE regularly came under intense fire from Iran, and most trade between the countries, which had once been important trading partners, ground to a halt. In late June, as hostilities eased, some maritime trade resumed, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
More time and data are needed to evaluate the full effect of the war on Iran-UAE trade, but the UAE is clearly a critical partner for Iran, said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at Germany’s University
of Marburg.
Beyond the trade in domestically produced goods, “the UAE has been very important for Iran as a re-export hub and has helped the country absorb some of the shocks caused by sanctions,” he said.
“Iran therefore depends heavily on the UAE not because the UAE itself produces one-third of Iran’s imports, but because it serves as a major gateway for Iran to access third-country goods and commercial infrastructure.” Following the news that two ballistic missiles had been fired toward the UAE, both of which splashed down in the Persian Gulf late Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said that while it remained committed to “dialogue, cooperation and regional integration,” it had decided to impose the punitive measures.
“In light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace and security, all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” the ministry said in a statement.
The UAE’s Defence Ministry said assessments showed that the missiles targeted maritime traffic. It was not clear whether they targeted Emirati ships or the country’s territorial waters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denied that Iran had launched any missiles toward the UAE.
As part of Iran’s efforts to maintain a stranglehold over the Strait of Hormuz, it has regularly attacked ships attempting to use the waterway, including four tankers owned by Abu Dhabi’s state-owned ADNOC oil and gas company over the past two weeks. None of the attacks caused injuries, but they brought harsh condemnation from the UAE and others , including Kuwait and Bahrain.
Since the beginning of the conflict, nearly 20 ADNOC vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and wounding another 20.
