Media: Iranian Envoy to Return to UAE After Years of Severed Ties

By Staff, Agencies

Iran will soon send an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates [UAE], seven years after ties between the two regional governments severed, according to Iranian media.

Reza Ameri, director general of the Iranians Abroad Department for Tehran’s Foreign Ministry, was appointed as the envoy to Abu Dhabi, Iranian Students News Agency reported, citing “sources.” Ameri has previously served as Iran’s envoy to Algeria, Sudan, and Eritrea.

Last August, Abu Dhabi announced that an Emirati ambassador would return to Tehran. In March, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri said, "The administrative procedure of his credentials is almost complete and he will travel to Abu Dhabi in the near future.”

The UAE and other Gulf countries cut ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi Arabia's diplomatic mission in Iran to protest Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric. But with Middle East political alignments shifting, Emirati talk of strengthening ties with Iran has come alongside a recent rapprochement between regional rivals Riyadh and Tehran.

In light of the reconciliation, Iranian officials have expressed hopes for restoring ties with other Arab states as well. Last month, Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani visited the UAE alongside “top economic, banking, and security officials.”