Iran on Thursday said it had seized a United Arab Emirates (UAE) vessel after two Iranian fishermen were allegedly shot dead by the UAE coast guard in the Persian Gulf on Monday.
“On Monday, an Emirati ship was seized by the border guards of Iran and its crew was detained due to illegal traffic in our country’s waters,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by Iranian state TV.
“On the same day, UAE guards shot dead two Iranian fishermen and seized a boat … The UAE has expressed regret for the incident and in a letter on Wednesday announced its readiness to pay compensation,” the ministry claimed in its statement, adding that it had summoned the UAE charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest the incident.
Iran’s version of events conflicts with a report by the official UAE news agency WAM on Monday, which said that the UAE’s coast guard “tried to stop eight fishing boats that violated its territorial waters northwest of Sir Abu Nu’Ayr island, without reporting any casualties,” according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Conflicts regarding fishing boats and other vessels are frequent between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbors, according to Al Jazeera. Last year, the UAE sent a coast guard delegation to Iran in an effort to revive maritime security talks between the traditional foes.
“Despite strained ties, Iran and the UAE have longstanding economic links and the Emirates are home to a significant Iranian expatriate community,” AFP reports. On August 5, a major fire broke out at an Iranian market in the UAE city of Ajman, located along the Persian Gulf coast. Over 120 shops were destroyed in the mysterious fire, an investigation of which is currently underway. The market was closed at the time of the fire due to the coronavirus pandemic and no casualties were reported.
Monday’s fishing boat incident comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the Emirates following last week’s announcement that the UAE will normalize diplomatic relations with Israel through a U.S.-backed agreement. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the historic peace deal on Saturday, calling it a “big mistake” while vaguely warning “against opening the path of Israel to the region,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya. The UAE denounced Rouhani’s remarks as “threats” and summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to protest the “unacceptable and inflammatory” rhetoric.
The UAE downgraded its diplomatic relations with Iran in 2016 amid intense rivalry between Iran and Emirates ally Saudi Arabia.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.