Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/emirati-top-security-official-visit-tehran-monday-nour-news-2021-12-05/
Today UAE’s top national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, spoke out saying he wants to expand bilateral ties with Iran. This comes right after the nuclear talks with Iran that happened earlier this month. The sudden reach out was after the 2019 attack on tankers in the Persian gulf. This attack directly affected the UAE’s oil economy. “These talks are cordial, but purely experimental,” said Riyadh. Others from the UAE stated that their country is taking steps to de-escalate tension with Iran, as a part of policy choice towards diplomacy and away from confrontation. This news also strikes as Iranians took a hard stance on their nuclear deal with other world superpowers.
My take on this article is this a surprising deal that is being struck between the two countries. With a Sunni majority in UAE and a Shia majority in Iran these pose an issue as both denominations have had a colored past. This is though a very rational decision on the Saudi side because of the recent international talks iran has had. With a very high chance of Iranian nukes it puts the whole region in a worse situation. With their oil dominated economy, and the IRanon controlled strait of Hormuz the UAE move to make an ally is very wise. This also comes after American widespread withdrawal from Afghanistan and that general region. Without the American presence Iran controls that region.
This topic connects to class because the UAE has recently taken a more liberal view towards iran. They have used two out of three pillars of Liberalism. The first was focused on trade, where their talks of the threat of oil trade on the Persian gulf have focused on making an ally in that region to back them up. This focus on trade stems from the heavy dependence on oil and trade in/out of the Iranian controlled Persian Gulf. The second pillar the UAE demonstrated was Liberal democracy where they took steps to de-escalate an dcom towards peace rather than conflict. This change in character shows a liberal approach to the Iranian dominance in that region. Overall the UAE has changed their forging policy from a realist towards liberal to benefit themselves.