Tehran, July 08: The Iran-UAE Chamber of Commerce announced that Iran reduced its trade ties with the UAE following the latter’s decision to freeze 41 Iranian bank accounts.
Masoud Daneshmand, Head of Iran-UAE Chamber of Commerce, said trade ties with the UAE would be significantly reduced following the Gulf country’s announcement of freezing any accounts belonging to firms listed in the latest U.N. sanctions against Iran.
“The UAE has gone beyond the Security Council resolutions on Iran, so Iran scales down trade ties with the UAE in coming months,” Daneshmand told the Iranian news agency ISNA.
The entities and individuals that own the frozen bank accounts, declared by the UAE Central bank and reported by Emirates Business Journal, are allegedly assisting in the development of Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
“We do not accept the UAE behavior,” Daneshmand added.
The U.N. Security Council imposed on June 9 the fourth round of sanctions that targeted banks suspected of having connections with the Islamic republic’s nuclear project and that put under surveillance transactions made with any Iranian bank including the Central Bank.
The new sanctions blacklisted three firms controlled by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and another 15 belonging to the influential Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, also known as Revolutionary Guards.
Iran and the UAE have very close economic ties with thousands of Iranian companies and businessmen operating in the Gulf country, many of them involved in the multi-billion-dollar trade deals between the two countries. A considerable portion of Dubai’s economy also depends on trade ties with neighboring countries such as Iran.
Trade volume between UAE and Iran is estimated at $10 billion a year, mostly made up of Iranian imports.
-Agencies