UAE crackdown on firms aiding Iran's nuclear programme

UN curbs Iran's nuclear programme

The UAE has cracked down on more than 40 companies that the United Nations (UN) says are fronts for Iran's nuclear programme, reported Gulf News.

The UN Security Council resolution has imposed fresh sanctions against Iran's nuclear programme and an unnamed source is alleged to have said: "Operations of any company in the UAE proved to have connections with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), other entities or individuals subject to the UN asset freeze will immediately be shut down."

Authorities in the UAE have reacted accordingly and have been increasing investigations into companies and shutting these down if they are proven to be aiding Iran's nuclear programme. The report states that over 40 international and local businesses have been shut down in the UAE after it was discovered that they were in breach of the UN sanctions.

Specifically, the UAE has been looking for companies which are involved in illegal dealing in strategic dual-use equipment and materials or money laundering.

Details of UN sanctions

The UN Security Council's resolution singled out 40 companies in the UAE that were linked to Iranian financing, imports and shipping, including 15 tied directly to the Revolutionary Guards.

The list also included another 22 companies that UN believed to be involved in alleged nuclear or ballistic missile activities and three entities linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

The UN list has brought suspicion down on any Iranian-owned company in the UAE, even those that are not subject to sanctions or cited as being involved with Iran's nuclear programme in any way.

"Everyone is being investigated," Theodore Karasik, director of research and development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai, said to Babylon & Beyond. "These closures have been going on for a while."

Iran, meanwhile, insists that its nuclear program is peaceful and only for civilian purpose.

An estimated 400,000 Iranians live in the UAE and the trade flow between the two countries is worth some US$8 billion annually.
Many are, however, unconcerned by the UN crackdown. Morteza Masoumzadeh, Executive Deputy President of the Iranian Business Council in UAE which represents many Iranian businessmen living there, said to The Media Line: "These forty or so companies represent we heard about in the media are not members of the Iranian Business Council in United Arab Emirates, therefore such crackdowns do not bother us at all."

He continued: "We came to the United Arab Emirates 30 years ago when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard did not even exist...Until two years ago, Iran used to be the first trading partner for the UAE. It has since declined and it is now number three. Saudi Arabia is now number one."

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