ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Arab Emirates has halted all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late Tuesday, citing escalating regional tensions.
In a statement, the ministry said that Afra la-Hameli, director of the ministry’s Strategic Communications Department, rejected allegations regarding the status of the UAE-Iran economic relationship.
“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 statement cited Hameli as saying.
She reiterated the UAE’s commitment to dialogue, cooperation and regional integration as means of promoting “peace, stability, and prosperity” in the region.
The announcement comes as tensions between the UAE and Iran have intensified. Abu Dhabi said Tuesday that its air defenses detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward the country, with one falling outside UAE territorial waters and the other within. The UAE later said the missiles had been targeting maritime navigation and fell into the sea.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied the allegation, “categorically” rejecting the UAE’s claim that Iran had launched a missile toward the country.
The UAE on Friday deplored a previous “Iranian attack” on two vessels belonging to its state-owned energy company as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, adding that no injuries were reported. The assault brought the total number of attacks on Abu Dhabi's commercial fleet since the outbreak of the Iran war to at least 17.
The latest developments mark another step by the UAE against Iran since the regional war began on February 28. The UAE previously recalled its ambassador and closed several Iran-linked institutions.
At the height of the conflict in March, UAE authorities ordered the closure of an Iranian state-linked hospital in Dubai, as well as schools and a community center. A UAE official told AFP at the time that “certain institutions directly linked to the Iranian regime and IRGC will be closed under targeted measures” after they were found to have violated UAE laws.
The UAE has also been a major trading partner for Iran despite US sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Abu Dhabi said the country came under particularly heavy attack after the war began, with nearly 3,000 missiles and drones directed at the UAE, more than any other country in the region. Tankers belonging to the UAE’s state-owned oil company ADNOC have also been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks.
The latest UAE announcement follows a period of relative calm after a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States took effect in June. That agreement has since collapsed, while the UAE had reported no attacks during the period, unlike several other Gulf states.
