CAIRO – Iran claimed on Tuesday that it had appointed an ambassador to the UAE for the first time since 2016, as Gulf states and Iran’s relations shifted.
The move comes after the UAE upgraded ties and announced the return of its ambassador to Tehran in August.
According to Iranian official media, Iran’s newly appointed ambassador Reza Ameri formerly worked as the director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Iranian expatriates office.
Meanwhile, Iran welcomed the United States’ demand to support a peace process in Yemen, one year after a UN-brokered truce significantly decreased bloodshed.
On Tuesday, US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking stated that the US “would like to see the Iranians show support for the political process that we hope will emerge.”
Nasser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, called the envoy’s call “gratifying,” emphasizing that Tehran has been “striving for a peace process since the beginning of the war.”
UN Yemen ambassador Hans Grundberg called it as a “moment of hope,” despite the truce’s expiration in October.
Separately, Iran has repelled a drone attack on a Ministry of Defense building in the central city of Isfahan, according to Tasnim news agency, amid rising tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
In the past, Tehran has blamed such attacks on its arch-foe Israel, including a January drone attack on a military factory in Isfahan. Israel has not admitted or disputed involvement for the assaults.
“The Amir Al-Momenin complex in Isfahan was the target of a failed attack by a small drone that was foiled by defense systems,” Tasnim reported, adding that no damage was done.
In January, a drone attack on a Ministry of Defense industrial site was likewise unsuccessful, according to Iran, and was carried out by “mercenaries of the Zionist regime.”
