White House Envoy Meets UAE National Security Adviser to Discuss Iran

<p>White House Envoy Steve Witkoff met last weekend with Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed al Nahyan, the national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates, to discuss next steps regarding Iran, according to two sources familiar with the meeting.</p><p>The discussions, which were not publicly announced by the White House, occurred during the Trump administration's efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while applying economic pressure on Iran. The meeting took place on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.</p><hr /><ul><li>The UAE has been a key partner in the U.S.-led initiative to reopen and guide oil tankers through the strait and is essential to the U.S. economic pressure campaign against Iran.</li><li>Sheikh Tahnoon is a significant figure in the UAE, being the brother of President Mohammed bin Zayed, the national security adviser, and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, overseeing the UAE's investment and technology interests.</li><li>Witkoff and Sheikh Tahnoon discussed the Iranian crisis and other issues, according to the sources.</li><li>The White House did not respond to a request for comment.</li></ul><p>The meeting occurred shortly after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," which aims to impose sanctions on countries and entities that conduct business with Iran.</p><ul><li>Bessent communicated with Sheikh Tahnoon prior to the announcement, according to a source.</li><li>On the day of Witkoff's meeting, the Treasury Department moved to cut off the UAE branches of Egypt's Banque Misr from the U.S. financial system due to its dealings with Iran, which would block the bank's dollar transactions.</li><li>The UAE central bank stated it would conduct an "urgent examination" of the transactions between the Egyptian bank's branches and Iran.</li></ul><p>Days before the sanctions announcement, the UAE decided to halt all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran.</p><ul><li>This decision was significant as the UAE, particularly Dubai, had been a major trading and re-export hub for Iran, with trade between the two nations reaching $28 billion in 2024.</li><li>Emirati officials informed the Trump administration that any economic pressure campaign against Iran must involve all key countries trading with Iran for it to be effective.</li></ul><p>According to two sources, while the upcoming secondary sanctions were a factor in the UAE's decision, they were not the primary reason.</p><ul><li>On August 11, an Iranian delegation visited Abu Dhabi for diplomatic talks with Emirati officials.</li><li>During these discussions, the Iranians expressed a desire to deescalate and improve relations after previous missile and drone attacks on the UAE.</li><li>The Iranian delegation requested assistance in securing food and medicine and urged the UAE not to comply with U.S. sanctions, a request that was rejected.</li><li>Subsequently, the IRGC intensified attacks on UAE national oil company tankers attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the Emiratis to suspend all business with Iran.</li></ul><p>Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently instructed all U.S. embassies to communicate an official diplomatic demarche regarding Operation Economic Outcast to senior officials in their host governments.</p><ul><li>Embassies were directed to demand that countries "immediately and systematically" sever trade with Iran and identify illicit Iranian business activities.</li><li>The U.S. demarche emphasized that countries, companies, and individuals continuing business with Iran risk sanctions and disconnection from the dollar system.</li><li>A special message was sent to U.S. diplomatic posts in various cities, instructing them to demand the closure of branches of Iran's Melli and Saderat banks affiliated with the IRGC.</li></ul><p>The Trump administration is in the process of establishing an interagency task force to coordinate the enforcement of the economic pressure campaign against Iran.</p>