RSS Feed
August 20th, 2020 
Awake Goy TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it had summoned the United Arab Emirates envoy, after Emirati Coast Guard vessels shot at several Iranian fishing boats, killing two fishermen. It also said it had seized a UAE vessel.
On Monday, the Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency reported that eight fishing boats illegally entered UAE waters near Sir Bu Nair Island in the Persian Gulf. The WAM report said the boats did not stop when ordered to and “rules of engagement were applied,” without elaborating on what that meant.
Iran said the UAE’s Coast Guard opened fire on some Iranian fishing boats, killing two anglers, and seized one of the vessels and detained the fishermen.
In an apparent tit-for-tat move, Iran on Monday seized an Emirati boat it said was illegally in Iranian waters and detained the crew, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The ministry said Iran expressed its anger to the UAE’s charge d’affaires in Tehran on Tuesday, a day after the incident. The ministry said it urged the Emirati envoy to release the detained fishermen and lift the seizure of the boat and deliver the bodies of the two killed. It also demanded compensation and that appropriate measures be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
Emirati officials and state media did not immediately acknowledge their diplomat being summoned in Tehran.
Tensions between Iran and the UAE were sparked by the announcement last week that Abu Dhabi is normalizing its ties with Israel.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the UAE had made a “huge mistake” by taking steps toward normalization with Israel, and now faced “a dangerous future.
“[The UAE] better be mindful. They have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act. We hope they will realize this and abandon this wrong path,” Rouhani said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech during the inaugural session of the new parliament in Tehran on May 27, 2020. (AFP)
The UAE’s foreign ministry said Sunday that it had summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in the country for a dressing down over Tehran’s threats.
The threat was condemned Sunday by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, whose members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Council Secretary-General Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf said in a statement, “Iran must adhere to the UN Charter and refrain from interfering in the domestic affairs of other nations,” the Arab News website reported.
The UAE is the first Gulf Arab state to open diplomatic relations with Israel and only the third Arab nation to establish normalized relations with Israel, Iran’s regional archenemy. As part of the US-brokered deal, Israel agreed to put off the annexation of parts of the West Bank.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
