Feb
UAE leader goes to Iran for talks
PHOTO: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, World Economic Forum, flickr.
George W. Bush can’t be too happy about this. The prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, held talks with Iran in Tehran. The Al Jazeera article says he is “the most senior UAE official to make a bilateral visit to Tehran since the Islamic revolution in 1979.” This followed an earlier visit by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UAE.
This latest visit by the UAE premier has been part of a larger trend. Arab countries and Iran have been warming up their ties recently. Saudi Arabia’s king invited Ahmadinejad to perform the Hajj, a Muslim pilgrimage, late last year. The invitation was interpreted as more than just a chance to perform the pilgrimage; it was seen as the extension of an olive branch to improve ties.
These recent moves are not surprising. Iran and Arab states have a lot of reason to get along: they have motives ranging from oil to transportation to political stability.
The Al Jazeera article quoted al-Maktoum stressing Iran’s right to “peaceful nuclear activities.” That probably makes the U.S. and Israel very uncomfortable; they are both very leery of any nuclear activity in Iran.
Should Arab states be nervous about any nuclear activity from Iran, peaceful or not? It seems that the good relations of late would indicate no, but that does not mean any later international intervention because of Iran’s nuclear activities would not rock the whole area.
