ISLAMABAD – United Arab Emirates National Security Advisor went on a secretmission to Iran to defuse the tensions.
The national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates, Tahnoun binZayed, has been visiting Tehran on a secret mission aiming to defuse thetensions in the Gulf, according to a senior security source in the UAE.
The visit by Zayed, also the younger brother of Abu Dhabi crown princeMohammed bin Zayed, marks the highest-level meeting between Abu Dhabi andTehran after four tankers off the Emirati port of Fujairah were attacked inMay, *Al Jazeera*linkreportedon Monday.
The US military accused Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) of beingdirectly responsible for attacks on the tankers. Washingtonhas labelled the IRGC a “terror” group.
However, the UAE itself never publicly blamed Iran.
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Last month, Abu Dhabi welcomed an initiative by European leaders to easetension with Iran and open a diplomatic path.
“With persistence, the E3 [Britain, France and Germany] can open up a newchannel of communication and establish greater trust,” UAE foreign affairsminister Anwar Gargash wrote in the *Financial Times*.
“The UAE, Iran and other states can share the Gulf as normal neighbours, ifnot as the best of friends.”
