Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani visited the UAE in the spirit of promoting cooperation and political consultations, to “review regional issues with authorities,” according to Iranian pro-government media.
He also met with key European counterparts, he noted in a tweet, which raised eyebrows across the region.
Bagheri tweeted that “following diplomatic consultations with regional and extra-regional parties, we met with our German, French and English counterparts in Abu Dhabi and discussed a range of issues and mutual concerns.” The meeting with the Europeans comes in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron conducting a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, as well as reports that US envoy Brett McGurk traveled to Oman to discuss issues relating to Iran.
Iran International noted that “the three European countries [Germany, the UK and France] are signatories of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear accord and have remained in the defunct agreement after the United States pulled out in 2018.
“During the Biden administration, however, their diplomatic approach has been more closely coordinated with Washington.”
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani poses for a photo with diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s President, Anwar Gargash, and Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalifa Shaheen Almarar during a visit to the country, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates November 24, 2021. (credit: WAM/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Back in January, Syrian regime media SANA quoted Kani as saying that “Tehran insists on its principled position in negotiations to abolish sanctions and the embargo imposed on it.”
According to Iranian media IRNA, Bagheri said “the negotiations are ongoing with no interruption, and issues related to them are being pursued seriously.”
Iran did outreach to the UAE in 2021
In November 2021, the Iranian diplomat conducted similar outreach to the UAE. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said at the time that he hopes “it is soon,” according to a report by New Arab.
Kani, who was then Iran’s top nuclear deal negotiator, met Gargash and other Emirati officials on November 24 of that year. This recent trip then, is part of a longer process and dovetails with Iran-Saudi reconciliation as well as reports that France and the US are seeking to engage with Iran more than in the past.
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