Iran’s trade ties with Dubai persist despite tensions — Dawn
In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Iranian goods continue to reach markets despite the suspension of trade and financial exchanges with Tehran announced last month. Shops in old Dubai sell Iranian saffron, cumin, pistachios, almonds and other traditional products.
As Dawn reports, grocery store owner Morteza Asaadi said that since the start of the war, some Iranian goods have become scarcer, while prices for others have increased. At the same time, nuts and zereshk — small red berries used in Persian cuisine — remain on sale.
Supplies via Oman and by air
Two wholesale traders, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that they continue to purchase certain goods in Iran, including through Omani ports. One of them said that exporting from the Emirates is no longer possible, but certain goods can still be imported.
Saffron arrives at a Dubai spice shop on flights from Mashhad in northeastern Iran after air connections, which had briefly been interrupted, resumed.
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The UAE’s role in trade with Iran
Dubai is home to a large Iranian community estimated at several hundred thousand people. According to the World Trade Organization, in 2024 the UAE was the main entry point for goods into Iran, accounting for more than 30% of the country’s imports worth $21 billion.
At the same time, the UAE was the third-largest buyer of Iranian goods, receiving nearly 12% of Iran’s exports worth more than $7 billion. Washington accuses Dubai of being an important hub for financial networks used to circumvent sanctions against Iran.
At the end of August, the United States announced new measures against Iran’s trading partners and imposed sanctions on the director of the Dubai branch of Iran’s Bank Melli. An employee at one of the bank’s two branches in Dubai said the institution continues to receive clients.
Mehram Haghirian, an analyst at the London-based think tank Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, believes that Abu Dhabi’s announcement of the suspension of relations with Iran is intended to demonstrate the UAE’s alignment with the United States and encourage Tehran to return to negotiations. In his view, this will not necessarily stop informal flows of goods and contacts between private actors that have long existed on both sides of the Gulf.
