There are good reasons for the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries to be concerned about the prospect of Iran increasing its influence in this region as the United States decreases its role under its vaunted pivot towards Asia. For tensions to decrease, Iran will have to reverse its reputation for interfering in the internal affairs of sovereign countries that has been the case for more than 40 years. It extends back to the Shah’s regime, during which Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs islands were illegally seized just as the UAE was being formed in 1971.
More tellingly, this policy of interference is continuing unabated in the form of support for Bashar Al Assad’s regime in Syria, support for Shia groups in Bahrain and Yemen, meddling in Kuwait, increasing the sectarian Sunni-Shia divisions in Iraq, and support for Hizbollah in Lebanon.
Iran has much to gain from taking a less belligerent approach, as do countries such as the UAE, an otherwise natural trading partner that pays a high price for the sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic. Opening Iran’s economy to greater participation in the regional and global economy would go a long way towards improving the lives of ordinary Iranians and particularly the educated youths who are starved of opportunity because of the antagonistic foreign policies of the country’s rulers.
This cannot happen without a regaining of confidence and trust between all the countries involved. In this, the onus has to be squarely on Iran to reverse the damage its policies have done and to revive trust with the GCC countries. It is easy to shatter trust but much more difficult to rebuild.
This will not be achieved with one public declaration; it will be the result of a series of consistent policies, statements and actions that show Iran is serious about being a genuine partner in the region, and that maintaining peace and generating prosperity are more important than imposing its own agenda.
One good starting point for the Iranians to show their good faith would be for them to agree to participate with the UAE in international arbitration over the ownership of the three islands.
