Iranian Top Security Official To Visit UAE On March 16

Iranwire – The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council will visit the United Arab Emirates on March 16, Iranian media report, at a time of growing rapprochement between Tehran and Sunni monarchies in the Persian Gulf.

Ali Shamkhani “will travel to Abu Dhabi on Thursday in response to an official invitation by his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss bilateral, regional, and international issues,” Nour News, which is affiliated with the Iranian top security body, said on March 15.

It said that “top economic, banking and security officials” will accompany Shamkhani during his visit, which comes after the UAE sent an ambassador back to Iran in September 2022.

The UAE had scaled back its relations with the Islamic Republic in 2016 after protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran following Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric.

Last week, Shamkhani took part in talks in Beijing that resulted in Saudi Arabia, a US ally, and Shia-majority Iran agreeing to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies.

Speaking at a conference in Riyadh on March 15, the Saudi finance minister said his country could start making investments in Iran “quickly,” despite US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Mohammed Al-Jadaan said there were “a lot of opportunities” in regional rival Iran and that he couldn’t see any reason to prevent investments taking place between the two countries.

“When people really stick to the principles of what was agreed, I think that that could happen very quickly,” the minister said.