"Iran will suffer the least in case it cuts its trade ties with the UAE," Yahya Ale-Ishaq was quoted as saying by Tasnim News Agency. Nevertheless, Mr. Ale-Isqaq added that there may be a certain problem but the volume of Iran's imports from the UAE is not so high that it could become a specific issue for Tehran. Ale Ishaq emphasized that Iran would replace the UAE with Oman if the trade relations between the two were severed. Another replacement would be Turkey, the official said, adding that several other trade points were also being considered.
“Any move by the Persian Gulf littoral states to cut relations with Iran will lead to far larger costs for those states than they think,” he added. “This is a psychological warfare that has become heated so quickly but will cool down just as quickly.” The UAE has recalled its ambassador from Iran and reduced relations to the level of chargé d'affaires. This followed the deterioration of relations between Tehran and Riyadh over angry protests in Iran against the execution of top Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr by the Saudi government.
Other countries that have followed Riyadh's suit and cut relations with Iran include Sudan, Djibouti, Bahrain and Somalia. The UAE is considered Iran's fourth-largest trading partner. It recorded a surge in trade exchange with Iran to $17bn in 2014 but remains lower than the record $23 billion set in 2011 before sanctions began to bite, according a report published last July.
SH/PR