UAE deal puts Israel’s economic reach on Iran’s doorstep
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
February 09, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 09, 2023
UAE deal puts Israel’s economic reach on Iran’s doorstep

Politics

BSS/AFP
23 August, 2020, 09:50 am
Last modified: 23 August, 2020, 09:57 am

Related News

  • Israel's Ben-Gvir pushes for five-fold increase in gun permits
  • Iran's supreme leader issues pardon for 'tens of thousands' of prisoners
  • Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against justice reform plans
  • UN urges end to 'illogic of escalation' between Israel, Palestinians
  • US, allies say IAEA report shows Iran inconsistent in meeting nuclear obligations

UAE deal puts Israel’s economic reach on Iran’s doorstep

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf state to establish ties with Israel, in a deal that came amid rising tensions with Iran, accused by its neighbours of fuelling regional instability

BSS/AFP
23 August, 2020, 09:50 am
Last modified: 23 August, 2020, 09:57 am
Photo:Collected
Photo:Collected

Israel's landmark deal with the UAE to normalise ties could see businesses from the Jewish state operating on arch-rival Iran's doorstep, but are unlikely to disturb Emirati economic ties to Iran.

It could also pave the way for direct economic engagement between Israeli and UAE-based Iranian business people that would reap benefits from politics, experts say.

Cinzia Bianco, a research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said it would be "a while" before Iranians in the UAE come face to face with Israelis.

"It is important to stress here that most Iranians with real ties in the Islamic republic were either expelled or moved away in the past years," she said.

"Those who remained in Dubai or the UAE in general are the ultra-pragmatic business people, who refuse to get enmeshed in any kind of politics. So some of them view this deal as an opportunity, not a challenge," she added.

The Israel-UAE deal is about Iran, not Palestine

The oil-rich United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf state to establish ties with Israel, in a deal that came amid rising tensions with Iran, accused by its neighbours of fuelling regional instability.

Abu Dhabi accuses Tehran of occupying three Emirati islands since 1971, and downgraded ties with Iran in 2016 amid rivalry between UAE ally Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic, which is also targeted by painful US economic sanctions.

Despite tensions, the UAE and Iran, which lie 70 kilometres (44 miles) apart across the strategic Strait of Hormuz, have maintained diplomatic exchanges and crucially protected their economic ties, generating billions for both sides.

"Tehran is not in a position to forego its economic ties with any country — especially not the UAE which is practically next door," said Ellen R. Wald, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Centre.

"Iran also has close ties to countries like China that work alongside Israel," she told AFP.

– Deep economic ties –

Donald Trump's shock announcement of the deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the UAE "against opening the path of Israel to the region".

The UAE summoned Iran's envoy to protest the "threats", although it insisted the next day the agreement "was not directed against Iran".

But feelings are still running high in the Strait of Hormuz — a vital corridor connecting the petroleum-rich states of the Middle East with markets in Asia, Europe, North America and elsewhere.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 35 percent of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran last week said it seized an Emirati boat and arrested its crew after two Iranian fishermen were shot dead in an incident in the Gulf.

But the foreign ministry in Tehran conceded the UAE had promised "compensation for any damage caused".

Trade between the UAE and Iran is worth billions of dollars, with Dubai historically serving as a centre for Iranian offshore business.

Exchange between the two oil producers was worth $8.3 billion last year, according to official Emirati statistics, down from $15.2 billion in 2018 — before US sanctions reached their peak in May 2019.

Iranian businesses and individuals complain those sanctions mean their banking services are often suspended or withdrawn, but fail to actually stop them trading.

Mobiles phones, cars, frozen meat, clothes and other goods flow between the two countries' ports almost constantly.

– 'Cooperative relationship' –

More than 8,000 Iranian companies and 6,000 traders operate across the UAE, making it highly likely they will encounter the expected wave of Israeli merchants and investors.

"Iranians in the UAE are not in a position to complain about the Israel-UAE relationship, but there is little indication that the typical Iranian would be disturbed by this," Wald said.

She noted that before the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah, "Iran and Israel had a cooperative relationship".

The UAE is also home to a sizeable Iranian community that owns hundreds of properties and has invested heavily in the infrastructure of the country since its formation in 1971.
According to Emirati media, tens of thousands of Iranians live in the UAE while Iranian officials estimate their number to be closer to half a million. Around 350,000 Iranians visit the Emirates each year.

Many prominent Emirati families are originally from Iran, with some members holding government jobs.

Some Iranians, like public relations executive Fariba, say they are not concerned by the UAE-Iran deal to normalise ties.

"I am a divorced mother, and I need to work to raise my son. That's all I care about," the 45-year-old who did not give her surname told AFP.

Top News / World+Biz

UAE / Iran / Israel

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Illustration: Dalbert B. Vilarino for Bloomberg Businessweek
    If you have to have a recession, make it a rolling one
  • Turkey seeks Bangladesh's assistance to combat earthquake aftershocks
    Turkey seeks Bangladesh's assistance to combat earthquake aftershocks
  • Photo: PID
    Rail connectivity will ease Dhaka's traffic jam, says PM

MOST VIEWED

  • President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
    Biden in State of the Union address vows to 'finish the job'
  • Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, addresses his supporters after his arrival from Dubai at Jinnah International airport in Karachi March 24, 2013. Musharraf returned home on Sunday after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest elections despite the possibility of arrest and a threat from the Taliban to kill him. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    Pakistan's Musharraf, military ruler who allied with the US and promoted moderate Islam
  • Robert Harrison, 96, arrives to vote while wearing a mask to prevent exposure to novel coronavirus, in Hamilton, Ohio, US, March 12, 2020/ Reuters
    Democrats approve 2024 presidential primary shakeup
  • U.S. President Joe Biden holds a news conference following his meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, ahead of the G20 leaders' summit, in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
    Biden sounds ready to seek 2nd term while rallying Democrats
  • US President Joe Biden descends from Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/
    Biden, Cabinet visiting 20 states after State of the Union
  • FILE PHOTO: A group of women hold torches as they protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
    Myanmar junta imposes tough new measures on resistance strongholds

Related News

  • Israel's Ben-Gvir pushes for five-fold increase in gun permits
  • Iran's supreme leader issues pardon for 'tens of thousands' of prisoners
  • Tens of thousands of Israelis protest against justice reform plans
  • UN urges end to 'illogic of escalation' between Israel, Palestinians
  • US, allies say IAEA report shows Iran inconsistent in meeting nuclear obligations

Features

Google’s investment bodes well for Ireland’s economy.Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Layoffs alone won’t solve tech's problems

5h | Panorama
Mirsarai Autism Centre has been established to facilitate 7,000 disabled, autistic children at a distant village of Mirsarai upazila. Photo Minhaj Uddin

Children are everyone's business

9h | Panorama
Caption1: One of Shaker Ibne Amin’s earliest and most favourite builds which he calls the ‘Soul’. Photo: Saikat Roy

3Monkey: Making the dream custom bike for every rider

9h | Wheels
Chinese automobile manufacturers dominate the 2023 Dhaka Motor Fest

Chinese automobile manufacturers dominate the 2023 Dhaka Motor Fest

8h | Wheels

More Videos from TBS

Quake death toll rising, passes 15,000

Quake death toll rising, passes 15,000

1h | TBS World
Ekushey book fair to see fewer releases this year

Ekushey book fair to see fewer releases this year

6h | TBS Stories
Sirajdikhan's delicious Patkhir is also in demand abroad

Sirajdikhan's delicious Patkhir is also in demand abroad

7h | TBS Stories
LeBron James NBA's all-time highest scorer

LeBron James NBA's all-time highest scorer

7h | TBS SPORTS

Most Read

1
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

From 'Made in Bangladesh' to 'Designed in Bangladesh'

2
Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making
Districts

Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making

3
Photo: Collected
Crime

Prime Distribution MD Mamun arrested in fraud case

4
Maqsuda Begum made new executive director of Bangladesh Bank
Banking

Maqsuda Begum made new executive director of Bangladesh Bank

5
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS
Bangladesh

HSC results to be published Wednesday

6
30% companies see double-digit growth even in hard times
Economy

30% companies see double-digit growth even in hard times

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]