Witkoff Discusses Economic Pressure on Iran With UAE Adviser
White House envoy Steve Witkoff met on the Italian island of Sardinia with the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They discussed coordinating a new economic offensive against Tehran, Anadolu Agency reports, citing Axios.
Operation Economic Outcast
The meeting took place several days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast. According to the source, the strategy aims to shut down all financial channels supporting Tehran.
On the day of the meeting, the US Treasury Department took steps to disconnect branches of the Egyptian bank Banque Misr in the UAE from the American financial system because of their ties to Iran. The White House did not comment on the talks between Witkoff and Tahnoon bin Zayed in Sardinia.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Reports on the UAE’s position
According to Axios, the UAE recently decided to halt all commercial and financial transactions with Tehran. The outlet links this decision to anticipated US secondary sanctions and reports of repeated Iranian attacks on Emirati oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
As Axios writes, on August 11, an Iranian delegation visited Abu Dhabi and requested food assistance and de-escalation. The Iranian side also asked the UAE not to cooperate with US sanctions, but Abu Dhabi rejected the request.
Emirati officials, according to the outlet, emphasized to Washington that the pressure campaign should include all of Tehran’s main trading partners. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed American embassies to deliver official diplomatic communications to governments demanding that they immediately and systematically sever trade ties with Iran.
