State-Censored Media’s Commentary on Announced Return of UAE Ambassador to Iran

The Islamic Republic’s state-censored media reacted cautiously to news of the return of the United Arab Emirates ambassador, who left Iran in protest against the storming of Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in 2016. However, there are stark analytical differences in the interpretation of the UAE’s motives for upgrading ties with Iran. While some analysts interpret the UAE’s move as a manifestation of Iran’s power, others perceive it as the Islamic Republic recognizing and adjusting to regional realities, such as the UAE normalizing relations with Israel. The important message, however, is one analyst’s warning against circles among the ruling elites of the Islamic Republic that benefit from deterioration, rather than improvement, of relations between Iran and Arab states.

• August 21: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the “imminent” return of UAE Ambassador Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi to Iran “as part of the Emirati leadership’s inclination to consolidate relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The Iranian Students’ News Agency added a commentary to the announcement, which appears to be a uniform commentary produced by the Foreign Ministry and used by all state-censored media in Iran: “Iran/UAE relations have been subject to considerable fluctuations. At times, rivalry and conflict between the two states turned into enmity, but recently, officials from both countries have, through official diplomatic and unofficial activities, attempted to manage conflicts, including the close relations between the UAE and the Zionist regime, which led to Iran’s warnings concerning the consequences of this matter.” 
• August 22: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mouthpiece Javan reprinted the standardized commentary but under the headline: “Speaking ‘the Language of the World’ Pays Off for the Thirteenth Cabinet: The UAE Sends Its Ambassador to Iran After Seven Years.” In this context, “the Language of the World” is open to interpretation but may refer to Iran’s use of force against Emirati interests in recent years. 
• August 22: Jafar Qanadbashi, a Middle East analyst, in an interview with Jamaran claimed “in Muslim countries, the public opinion considers normalization of relations with Israel as an unfriendly or even treacherous behavior toward Palestinian brethren. Therefore, the UAE desired to have relations with staunch opponents of Israel in order to dampen anti-Emirati sentiments in the region.” Qanadbashi also claimed the UAE desires to improve relations with Iran to counter improvement of Iran-Qatar relations and because of progress in Iran’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia.  
• August 23: Rahborde Moaser interviewed Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri Abyaneh, former ambassador to Mexico, who argued “The UAE is trying to correct its mistake of the past of lowering the level of diplomatic relations with Iran … Iran is the dominant force in the Persian Gulf and in the region. Other countries must improve their relations with Iran … However, this does not mean they will stop playing their political games.” Commenting on further expansion of relations between Iran and the UAE, Ghadiri Abyaneh said: “This depends on the degree of independence of states. If countries are subjects of the United States and pursue Washington’s policies, there will naturally be limits to relations with the Islamic Republic. The UAE and other countries subject to American pressure imposed limits on their trade relations with Iran from which they themselves will be harmed. However, one of the characteristics of dependent regimes is that they prefer to secure America’s, rather than their own, interests.” 
• August 23: In less triumphalist terms, Qassem Mohebali, former Foreign Ministry West Asia director, said in an interview with Etemad: “While the UAE’s relations with Israel have expanded considerably and have normalized, establishing relations with Iran means Iran has accepted the new circumstances and accepts the UAE as is.” Commenting on the 2016 assaults on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, Mohebali said: “The threat of extremism is always there … we must pay attention to them and manage them. But unfortunately, there are circles among the ruling elites of the Islamic Republic that may benefit from extremism.” 

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