Iran says Israel’s Presence in UAE as Threat

DUBAI – The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Israel’s presence in the United Arab Emirates poses a threat to Tehran and “should not happen”.

Iran has threatened to retaliate over suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria. Last week, seven Revolutionary Guard officers, including two senior commanders, were killed in the capital. This has increased tensions between arch-enemies in the Middle East, which are already boiling over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, became the most important Arab country in 30 years to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in a 2020 deal negotiated by the United States, although Abu Dhabi also maintains normal diplomatic and trade relations with Tehran

“We know that the Zionists (Israel) were not brought to the UAE for economic purposes, but rather for security and military work. This is a danger for us and this should not happen,” said Revolutionary Guards naval commander Alireza Tangsiri, according to Iran’s semi-official Student News Agency.

Tangsiri added that the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, through which most of the world’s offshore oil passes, there was no place for Israelis.

He did not say whether Iran was considering taking action in the region because of Israel’s presence.

“We will not strike without retaliation, but we will not rush to retaliate either,” Tangsiri said days after a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader warned that Israeli embassies were no longer safe.

The UAE’s normalization with Israel. paved the way for many to people. other Arab countries will follow suit and break the taboo of their diplomatic relations without establishing a Palestinian state