UAE concern over misunderstanding by Iran; relations with Iraq

United Arab Emirates Minister of Information and Culture Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan in statements to the Kuwaiti News Agency expressed no concern over the improving ties between Iran and the Gulf states in light of the continuing occupation by Iran of three Islands in dispute between the two countries, but expressed concern that Iran may misunderstand the Gulf states’ position.

He feared misunderstanding by Iran that would make Iran more intransigent in its position on the disputed islands adding that "Teheran always claims that the issue was just a misunderstanding, which I hope could be just that, but we see in reality that the issue is far from what Teheran was claiming," according to the Emirate’s daily Khaleej Times.

On relations with Iraq, the Khaleej Times quoted the minister as saying “normalization of relations between the six AGCC countries and Iraq is far from sight so long as the Kuwaiti prisoners of war issue is yet to be settled with the Iraqi regime.”

"misunderstanding" of the approach among the Arab Gulf states and Tehran. He also excluded in the same situation the return of normal relations among countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Iraq.

Sheik Abdullah expressed in an interview with the Kuwaiti news agency yesterday, the UAE's feeling that the Iranians are misunderstanding the approach and that they also misunderstand the good intentions from the Gulf states. He added that the Iraqi issue will not be settled while the POW issue is still pending, saying that “that the Iraqi regime was responsible for the suffering of its people.” The Khaleej Times reported the minister as saying that “the continuation of the nine-year-old sanctions as the instrument that continue to keep the Iraqi regime in power. So long as the sanctions continued, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to unsettle the regime.” He also added that “he was not in favor of a complete break in relations with Baghdad.”