UAE Signs $19 Billion Deal For French Military Aircraft
The United Arab Emirates ordered $19 billion worth of military aircraft from France on Friday in a historic deal amid deepening economic and political ties.
The United Arab Emirates ordered $19 billion worth of military aircraft from France on Friday in a historic deal amid deepening economic and political ties.
The order includes 80 Rafale fighter jets and 12 military helicopters, which is the largest ever sale of the French warplane. The deal was sealed during a two-day trip to the Persian Gulf by French President Emmanuel Macron, who will also visit Qatar and Saudi Arabia,
"This contract is historic," French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said in a statement.
"This contract cements a strategic partnership that is stronger than ever and directly contributes to regional stability, the French presidency said in a statement.
Macron's visit comes at a time when Gulf Arab states have voiced uncertainty about the United States' focus on the region even as they seek more weapons from their key security ally.
The deal could be seen as a signal of impatience as the US Congress hesitates on approving an F-35 deal amid concerns about the UAE's relationship with China.
Defense sources said the Rafale is unlikely to displace the American-built F-35 as the UAE continues to hedge its security with two major suppliers, France and the United States.
With reporting by Reuters
During a visit to the United Arab Emirates on November 24, only a few days before leaving for Vienna for nuclear negotiations with world powers, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani pledged on behalf of the Islamic Republic to begin a new chapter in relations with the UAE, Bloomberg reported.
On the same day, Bagheri described the meeting in Dubai with UAE Presidential Adviser Anwar Gargash as “friendly and cordial.”
Three days before Bagheri's visit, Iran and UAE foreign ministers had welcomed the improvement of ties during a telephone conversation. Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Tehran attaches special importance to its ties with the UAE, particularly in the area of trade.
Iran has been using Dubai as a key outlet to international markets often referring to it as a one-stop-shop that could provide goods to Iran from a variety of Asian and other countries. Many Iranian merchants maintain offices in Dubai where they have residence and business permits. Many other Iranians own real estate in Dubai and foreign-based satellite televisions constantly advertise properties in the UAE Iranians can buy with little or no legal restrictions.
Reports coming from the UAE by the end of November indicated that the United Arab Emirates would soon send a delegation to Iran as part of efforts to improve ties with rival Tehran. Gargash told reporters that the UAE will keep its Arab neighbors and allies including the Saudis "in the picture" about the developments in bilateral ties with Iran.
Some observers believe that attempts toward a rapprochement with Iran are motivated by the general perception in the region, following US withdrawal from Afghanistan, that Washington has shifted its attention from the Middle East to East Asia, and players in the region may no longer be counting on the US to protect them against Iran's ambitions.
Noor News, a website close to the Iranian Supreme Council of National Security, has opined, that Iranian officials would welcome the upcoming visit by a high-ranking UAE delegation, which could be a positive step to reduce tensions. Meanwhile, the website said it is significant that the UAE has started this move while Iran is holding talks in Vienna. The gesture by the UAE would mean that Iran is not an isolated state.
Furthermore, UAE businesses may be showing their willingness to win the lion's share of Iran's foreign trade once US sanctions on Iran's international commerce and banking are lifted if the talks in Vienna prove successful.
Monday November 29 was the 50th anniversary of Iran capturing the three islands of Abu Musa, and the Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands in the Persian Gulf. While many Iranian media reports and social media accounts were cheerful about the anniversary, Turkey's national TV, TRT, on its Arabic Twitter account described the Islands as UAE islands occupied by Iran. This has annoyed Iranians as the dispute over the ownership of the three islands once again found its way into media. Iran at various points provided documents that indicate the islands were rented out to Arabs during the British colonial period.
Although the UAE has made no new claim about the islands, some Iranian media outlets and social media accounts have been talking about a Turkish conspiracy to damage the rapprochement that has been taking shape over the past weeks between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
