UAE Signs $19 Billion Deal For French Military Aircraft
French Rafale fighter plane sold to UAE. FILE PHOTO
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.
Iran and the United Arab Emirates appear to be taking the first steps toward some sort of rapprochement after years of tense relations and Iranian threats.
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.
The front page of Iran's Etelaat newspaper in 1971 announcing the capture of three islands two days before the formation of the UAE.
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.
Protesters in Baghdad on Wednesday rejected the final results of Iraq's parliamentary elections, which were announced by the electoral commission a day earlier.
The protesters, mainly supporters of Shiite factions backed by Iran, continued to level unsubstantiated claims that the vote had been rigged.
"We will continue our protest until they change the results and bow to our demands," said protester Ali Jawad.
The electoral commission confirmed Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as the biggest winner in last month's poll, securing 73 out of Parliament's 329 seats.
A Sunni party headed by Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi came in second with 37 seats, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 31 seats, the commission said.
The pro-Iran factions - which had alleged voter fraud - lost around two-thirds of their seats. They got only 17 seats, down from 48 in the previous elections.
The results will now be sent to the Federal Supreme Court for ratification, after which the president will call for a Parliament session within 15 days, where a new Speaker is elected.
A senior Emirati official said on Tuesday the United Arab Emirates would soon send a delegation to Iran as part of efforts to improve ties with rival Tehran.
"The sooner the better," Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told reporters when asked when a UAE delegation would hold talks in Tehran.
Asked whether the UAE was coordinating with Saudi Arabia on its moves on Iran, he said they were keeping its regional allies "in the picture"
"There is a recognition by the Iranians to rebuild bridges with the Gulf. We are picking that up positively," he said, adding that Abu Dhabi still shared concerns about Iran's regional activities.
The government of President Ebrahim Raisi has been emphasizing the need to improve relations with regional countries and held meetings with Saudi Arabia in April, but so far there has been breakthrough.
As the future of nuclear talks with Iran remain uncertain, the UAE might be hedging its bets to ensure its own security, being in the proximity of Iran. If talks succeed, Iran will get a financial windfall and come out of isolation somewhat. If the talks fail, tensions will spike in the region.
After the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan, there are also doubts about Washington's commitment to the region.
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's party is the biggest bloc in Iraq's parliament with 73 seats in the 329-seat house, final results announced Tuesday show.
The Taqaddum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law group won 33 seats, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 31, according to the results cited by state media.
The results were broadly in line with preliminary figures released in the days after the October 10 election, and unlikely to alter calculations much as politicians negotiate on the makeup of a new government.
Pro-Iran groups who performed poorly have refused to accept the results. They tried to change the outcome by protests, which the government ignored and the United Nations confirmed the general accuracy of the results.
Turnout reached 44%, the commission said, revised up from the 43% preliminary figure but still lower than in the last election in 2018.
More than 9.6 million people cast their ballots in the Oct. 10 vote, where at least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates competed for the parliament's 329 seats, the commission said.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Tuesday it launched air raids on "legitimate" Houthi military targets including a "secret" site belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The coalition asked civilians not to gather around or approach potential targets, Saudi state TV reported.
The Iran-aligned Houthis' main broadcaster, Al Masirah TV, said three air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition had hit Sanaa airport, while a fourth raid targeted a park.
The raid is one of several the coalition has carried out this month over the densely populated capital city of Sanaa.
Houthis have repeatedly launched cross-border attacks on the kingdom using drones and missiles since the coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the movement ousted the Saudi-backed government from the capital.
The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iran has been supplying th Houthis with weapons and military technology. The Houthis are pressing an offensive in Marib, the internationally recognized government's last northern stronghold, as well as in other areas in Yemen.
