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September 5, 2008 8:42:46 PM CDT

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Gulf Arabs Enjoy Iranian Thaw

Posted Dec 23, 07 4:30 AM CST in Business,  World 

(Newser) – Relations between the Sunni states in the Persian Gulf and the Shias in Iran were chilly before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, and they became even frostier afterward. But  now the worm is beginning to turn—and former rivals are making nice. Burdened with UN sanctions and needing new trading partners, Tehran has been knocking on doors across the Gulf—in the UAE, in Bahrain and at a recent Arab summit.

Not wanting to get caught up in a war between the US and the axis of evil, the Gulf states are responding positively, the Economist notes. After the recent summit, the Saudis invited Ahmadinejad to join the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca—and he accepted the offer. There’s still much hair-pulling over Tehran’s weapons program, but it’s hard to say no to business—there are 9,000 part-Iranian-owned firms in Dubai alone.

Source Economist

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Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, left, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, take questions from journalists Saturday, July 14, 2007, at a press conference in Manama,...   (Associated Press)
Trading dhow prepare to leave the creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday May 24, 2007. Unlike the targeted U.N. measures, the Bush administration's broad sanctions are starting to slow Iran's...   (Associated Press)
Iran's President, Mahmood Ahmadinejad whispers in the ear of an Iranian student on his arrival at the Iranian Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday May 13, 2007. Ahmadinejad is in UAE for a two...   (Associated Press)
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Iran  • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  • Dubai  • UN sanctions  • Bahrain


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