DUBAI/LONDON: United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources said, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.
Word of the move by the UAE to seek de-escalation and which has not been previously reported, coincides with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington on ending the war, talks that diplomats say could involve the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under US sanctions.
In the past month, the UAE, which was heavily targeted by Iran at the height of the war, has been spared fresh strikes, while Iran has trained its missiles and drones on Kuwait and Bahrain. The last known direct attack by Iran on the UAE was more than a month ago - a May 4 strike on the Gulf state’s Fujairah port on the Gulf of Oman.
Two regional sources told Reuters the UAE had agreed to release a total of USD 10 billion, more than USD 3 billion of which had already been delivered.
Two other sources with knowledge of the arrangement put the total funds involved at USD 20 billion, adding that the move had been agreed in return for a halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE.
One of the sources with knowledge of the arrangement also said a first tranche of USD 3 billion had already been made available.
Reuters could not establish whether the funds earmarked for the transfers belong to the UAE or originate in long-blocked Iranian accounts in the UAE banking system, or elsewhere.
The UAE foreign ministry issued a statement early on Saturday categorically denying reports of the transfer “including allegations concerning USD 3 billion”. The UAE statement “affirmed that these allegations are entirely false and unfounded, stressing that no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred or facilitated through the UAE.”
The UAE statement did not provide any further specifics.
Earlier, when asked by Reuters to comment on the transfer, a UAE official said the country was trying to ease tension and foster peace.