Erdogan Visits UAE in Bid to Repair Ties with Arab World

Istanbul — 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting the United Arab Emirates, hoping to repair strained ties. Analysts say shared concerns over Iran could provide common ground.

Erdogan said that his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, which began Monday, aims to ease years of tension and rivalry with the Persian Gulf state.

He said that with the visit, Turkey aims to develop the momentum it has achieved and to take the necessary steps to bring relations back to the level, he said, they deserve.

Turkey has found itself increasingly isolated across the Middle East, due largely to Ankara’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group, something that has caused unease among many Middle Eastern leaders.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, second right, arrive at Qasr Al-Watan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 14, 2022.

Teacher of international relations Soli Ozel at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University says Erdogan’s UAE visit is part of a wider regional reset, with Iran providing crucial common ground.

“Turkey’s charm offensive has targeted several countries, with one of them the United Arab Emirates. Both countries have an interest, along with all the western countries, for Iran not to be so influential as it is today,” he said.

Turkey is increasingly in competition with Iran, from the Caucasus to Syria.

Last week Turkish pro-government media reported several alleged Iranian agents were arrested in Turkey in a joint Turkish-Israeli intelligence service operation to thwart the assassination of a Turkish-Israeli businessman.

The arrests came after Iran recently cut off natural gas supplies to Turkey for more than a week, causing much of the country’s manufacturing sector to shut down for several days.

Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council, says there are suspicions the gas shut-off may have been politically motivated.

“We’ve seen Iran cut off the natural gas for Turkey ostensibly because [it] had something breaking down or it [Iran] needed it for its internal market. But it’s no coincidence that this happened after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Iran leader [Ebrahim] Raisi. This was clearly a message to Turkey,” she said.

Iran and Russia are working closely together in Syria in backing the Damascus regime, while Turkey backs Syrian rebels. Moscow has also voiced its anger over Ankara selling armed drones to Ukraine.

Analyst Ozel warns that the Turkish-Iranian rivalry is likely to escalate, with Ankara sharing Western and Middle Eastern countries’ fears over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

“If Turkey wants to jump on board in that struggle, then yes, we can expect Turkish-Iranian relations to be a bit testy. On the other hand, Turkey and Iran manage to have competitive and cooperative relations for centuries, so they are pretty well versed on how to do that,” he said.

If there’s a breakdown in talks between Iran and the international community to resolve concerns over Iran’s nuclear energy program, analysts warn that Turkey’s effort to balance competition and rivalry with its Iranian neighbor could face a greater test.

US Steps Up Military Support to UAE After Yemen Houthi Attacks

Amman, Jordan — 

The U.S. military is stepping up support to the United Arab Emirates after a series of missile and drone attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. U.S. General Frank McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command overseeing American forces in the Middle East, has been in the UAE to bolster defenses. Analysts say the attacks on the Gulf nation could hurt its reputation as a stable business and tourist hub with tough security.

Speaking from the United Arab Emirates, U.S. General Frank McKenzie said battlefield setbacks in Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels may have prompted recent attacks on the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, where a military base also hosts U.S. troops. The seven-year Yemen war has pit Houthis against government forces backed by Saudi Arabia and an Arab coalition, including the UAE. The conflict, viewed as a proxy war involving Iran, has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, sparking one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

U.S. and United Nations officials have documented Iran smuggling high-end weapons to the Houthis. “Medium range ballistic missiles that were fired from Yemen and entered UAE were not invented, built, designed in Yemen,” McKenzie said. So, I think we certainly see the Iranian connection to this.”

FILE – U.S. Army troops work near a Patriot missile battery at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 5, 2021.

Giuseppe Dentice heads the Middle East desk at Rome’s Center for International Studies. He told VOA that the Houthis are using the attacks to leverage their demands.

“It’s a strong and symbolic sign that shows how no one in the Gulf is safe and the Houthis have the ability to hit all these countries in the area. Maybe the main risk is the growing internationalization of the conflict with a widening front of new players; for instance, Israel that is interested to support Abu Dhabi to confront Iran in any scenario of this crisis. These attacks aim to weaken the security of the commercial, tourism, (and) financial hub in the Gulf,” he said.

Dr. Andreas Krieg, an associate professor at the School of Security at King’s College in London, agrees that the Houthi attacks pose a menace to the UAE’s standing as the key commercial and tourism hub in the Gulf and could hurt its safe reputation for finance and security.

“This is a major reputational damage to the idea of the UAE being one of the safest and more secure countries in the world,” Krieg told The New Arab online publication. “The fact that air defenses were unable to protect very critical infrastructure is definitely something the UAE will now have to consider,” he said.

Until recently, the UAE had been immune from such outright missile and drone attacks that the Houthis have rained down on neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The Pentagon says advanced F-22 fighter jets are being sent to the UAE and a guided missile destroyer, the USS Cole, will aid its navy to surveil Gulf waters for shipments of contraband. U.S. President Joe Biden says Washington is considering re-designating the Houthis as an international terrorist organization, a label which was rescinded last February. The UAE has called for the designation to be restored.

US Deploying Navy Destroyer, Fighter Jets to Aid UAE

WASHINGTON — 

The U.S. military is sending a guided missile destroyer to the United Arab Emirates and deploying fighter jets to help the UAE as it contends with missile attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the moves in a phone call Tuesday with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A Pentagon statement said the USS Cole will “partner with the UAE Navy before making a port call in Abu Dhabi.”

“The Secretary also informed the Crown Prince of his decision to deploy 5th Generation Fighter aircraft to assist the UAE against the current threat and as a clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner,” the statement said.

A January 17 rebel attack killed three foreign workers at an Abu Dhabi oil facility.

One week later, UAE and U.S. forces at Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra airbase launched interceptor missiles to destroy two Houthi missiles.

A third attack came Monday, with UAE missiles intercepting a Houthi rocket during a visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition, which since 2015 has battled the Houthi rebels in defense of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.