President Raisi felicitates election of MbZ as UAE president

In his congratulatory message on Monday, Raeisi hoped that the mutual relations, which were established during the rule of late UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, would be expanded with wisdom and in line with interests of the two countries.

The Iranian president also hoped that Tehran and Abu Dhabi would witness the promotion of mutual relations in all fields.

Sheikh Khalifah, who was also the ruler of Abu Dhabi emirate, passed away on Friday at the age of 73.

Sheikh Khalifah was battling illness for several years and had long ceased having involvement in day-to-day affairs. According to the UAE constitution, Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, will act as president until the federal council, consisting of the rulers of the seven emirates, meets within 30 days to elect a new president.

Back in August, Raeisi said that the Islamic Republic is determined and open to the expansion of relations with the United Arab Emirates, stressing that Tehran sees no boundaries to the promotion of such ties, particularly trade and economic ones.

In recent months, Iran and the UAE have intensified efforts to rebuild relations affected by the years-long war in Yemen and other regional issues.

A huge re-exporting hub in the Persian Gulf, the UAE has been a major supplier of goods and machinery to Iran since 2018 when Tehran came under a series of unilateral economic sanctions by the United States.

UAE’s value of exports to Iran amounts to over $1.5 billion per month, according to figures by the Iranian customs office.