Iran rushes regional thaw in UAE as it hopes for sanctions relief
Iran's foreign minister was in the United Arab Emirates to pursue the Islamic Republic's reproachment drive, while his deputy was on a parallel mission in neighboring Qatar in a quest for sanctions relief through indirect diplomacy with the United States.
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian sat down with Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on Thursday, as part of growing efforts that have seen Tehran mending strained ties with regional Arab rivals.
The government-run IRNA news agency said Amir-Abdollahian had conveyed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's formal invitation to his Emirati counterpart to visit Tehran.
Iran and the United Arab Emirates relaunched diplomatic ties last August following a six-year hiatus. In 2016, Abu Dhabi followed the suit of its ally, Saudi Arabia, which shut down its Iran missions after they were stormed by Iranian hard-liners enraged by the kingdom's execution of a Shiite cleric.
Yet as recently as last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan was in Tehran as part of a China-brokered reconciliation deal in March that triggered a surprise push for an end to seven years of hostilities.
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