UAE official says 'impossible to return to previous pace in relations' with Iran

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As the world watches and hopes for a permanent ceasefire outcome from US-Iran talks, the UAE President's advisor has said for relations to return to as they were, it would be "unacceptable to accept threats" as a new reality.

Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE President said the meeting was the first gathering since the recent Iran conflict, as countries try to understand the “contours of the new phase” and the changing political landscape, as well as what comes next.

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"It is impossible to return to the previous pace in relations without review, candor, and guarantees, and it is unacceptable to accept tension, threats, and aggression as a new reality," he said.

For the UAE, Gargash said the repercussions of what he described as Iran’s "brutal aggression" against Gulf states and their people remain at the "centre of attention".

Meanwhile on Sunday, in a letter to UN officials, Bahrain sought for "full compensation" from Iran for losses incurred by the Gulf country during Tehran's attacks during the US-Iran war.

The letter — the 11th such communication since the war began — details the extent of damage due to the Iranian attacks. It mentions the death of the Moroccan civilian contractor working with the UAE Armed Forces during a routine mission in Bahrain, as well as injuries sustained by several members of the Bahrain and UAE defence forces while responding to the attacks.

This is not the first time a Gulf state has raised the alarm over the Iranian attacks. On March 25, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan issued a joint statement, renewing their condemnation in the strongest terms of the blatant Iranian attacks in the region.

The statement called the attacks a flagrant violation of their sovereignty and territorial integrity, international law, international humanitarian law, and the Charter of the United Nations, whether directly or through its proxies and the armed factions it supports in the region.

After the war broke out on February 28, Gargash maintained the UAE's position on the ongoing regional tensions and highlighted the fragile state of trust between the two nations and how important yet sensitive rebuilding relations is right now.

The UAE, he said, is not closing the door to diplomacy, but will judge Iran by actions rather than words.

Earlier, the advisor had revealed the UAE was the country most exposed to the Iranian attacks, even compared with Israel, and argued that the scale of the targeting could not be explained by any rational calculation. 

He said the UAE was hit by more than 2,800 Iranian missiles and drones and intercepted 96 per cent of them, presenting this as evidence that Iran had badly misjudged the country’s defensive readiness.