Link to Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/emirati-top-security-official-visit-tehran-monday-nour-news-2021-12-05/
The United Arab Emirates’ top national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Iran tomorrow (Monday, Dec 6) to discuss expanding bilateral ties. Sheikh Tahnoon will meet with the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani, and other Iranian officials. The UAE’s engagement with Iran began in 2019 after attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and tankers off Gulf waters. Anwar Gargash, The diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, said that the country is trying to mend ties with Iran to focus on diplomacy rather than confrontation. This visit comes days after talks between the U.S and Iran on reinstating the 2015 nuclear deal where Western officials voiced dismay on the demands by the Islamic, especially with the hardline approach of president Ebrahim Raisi.
The UAE and Iran had had relations for a long time, dating back to before the modern UAE existed. Relations have been up and down, and in recent decades there has been tension over three islands in the Persian Gulf: Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb. The countries have had disagreements and criticized each other. And relations hugely declined after the Israel and UAE normalization agreement where Iran said this is a stab in the back to Palestinians- whom they support. It is good to hear that they want to veer towards strengthening diplomacy rather than confrontation because the countries would benefit from smoother ties with one another, especially as they have large trade connections.
As Anwar Ganash stated that they want to strengthen their diplomacy, this is a liberal approach. Strengthening diplomacy is key to reciprocity. This means that both countries would benefit greatly from working together. Meanwhile, the realist view would be to use dominance to get another country to comply with something they might not want. The article also mentioned the talks of Iran’s nuclear agreement since this is a major focus of Iran at the moment. In the last six rounds, agreements that were discussed have been put on hold with recently elected president Ebrahim Raisi. This shows how countries can change direction with different leaders.