ABU DHABI, June 11 — The United Arab Emirates has delivered about $3 billion to Iran and agreed to release billions more under an arrangement aimed at halting Iranian attacks on the Persian Gulf state, according to four sources cited by Reuters. A UAE official said Abu Dhabi was seeking to reduce tensions and support regional stability.
Two regional sources said the UAE agreed to release a total of $10 billion, with more than $3 billion already delivered, while two other sources put the total funds involved at $20 billion.
The arrangement comes after Iran last directly attacked the UAE on May 4, when it struck Fujairah port. Hardline Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian criticized the emerging US-Iran agreement, saying the latest text was more damaging than two earlier versions and involved greater Iranian concessions. “After seeing the text of the agreement, I must say that compared with the two previous versions, it is more damaging and Iran’s retreats have also increased,” Nabavian said.
IRGC-affiliated Fars News criticized Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for what it called an “ambiguous” response to President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iranian media reports about the terms of a possible US-Iran memorandum of understanding. Reuters reported that it could not determine whether the funds came from UAE money or long-blocked Iranian accounts in the UAE banking system or elsewhere.
The UAE’s move to release billions of dollars to Iran is seen as an effort to reduce tensions and prevent further attacks.
As the situation continues to unfold, it is likely that the international community will be watching closely to see whether the arrangement between the UAE and Iran will lead to a reduction in tensions. The US-Iran agreement, which has been criticized by hardline Iranian lawmakers, will also be under scrutiny.
The fact that Iran has not directly commented on the arrangement with the UAE suggests that there may be more to the story than is currently known. As more information becomes available, it will be important to monitor the situation and assess the implications of the UAE’s decision to release billions of dollars to Iran.
