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The United Arab Emirates released 15 Iranian prisoners on Thursday, the Iranian press reported, in the latest step toward normalization between Arab Gulf countries and the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the prisoners were pardoned following discussions between Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Emirati officials during the former’s visit to the Gulf country last month. The statement went on that the prisoners will return home as soon as administrative procedures are completed.
The UAE has yet to comment on the news. It remains unclear why the Iranians had been imprisoned there.
In a similar move this week, Kuwait also released 11 Iranian prisoners who arrived in Tehran late on Tuesday as part of an extradition treaty signed between the two countries in 2006.
Also, seven Iranians who were imprisoned in Qatar were released and handed back to Iran late last month. According to Iranian media, six of them had been sentenced to one year in jail after illegally entering Qatari territorial waters.
The two countries have an extradition treaty signed in 2010.
The releases mark the latest in a flurry of diplomatic moves by Iran to restore its ties with Arab countries after years of tensions that have deeply divided the region. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to end their diplomatic estrangement under a landmark China-mediated deal.
In mid-June, Amir-Abdollahian embarked on a Gulf tour, making stops in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman. During his visits, he met with officials to discuss ties and ways to boost them in various fields as part of Iran’s efforts to end its economic isolation.
However, some thorny issues persist in the region.
Last week, tension over a disputed gas field in the Gulf was revived after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reiterated their “exclusive rights” to the field, of which Iran claims a northern part. The Durra gas field lies in the northwest part of the Gulf off the coast of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait hold that it is located in their neutral zone.
Also on Wednesday, Iran summoned the Russian ambassador in Tehran over his country’s comments in favor of the UAE’s claim to three contested islands.
The Abu Musa, Lesser Tunb and Greater Tunb islands are located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The UAE claims that Iran illegally occupied the islands following the withdrawal of British forces in 1971.
