Iran’s declaration on April 6 that its coronavirus coordination with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has further improved both countries’ ties indicates an increasing rift between Abu Dhabi’s traditional alliance with Saudi Arabia, and shows how the UAE seeks to use the regional coronavirus outbreak to increase its own influence. Such contrasting strategies could further alter the Middle East’s future geopolitical power balance.

Throughout March, the UAE shipped multiple batches of medical equipment to Iran, which suffers the region’s worst coronavirus outbreak with over 3,600 reported deaths, along with a worsening humanitarian situation amid ongoing US sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javid Zarif and UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan talked on the phone on March 15 to discuss ways to contain the pandemic.

Such aid and communication efforts were apparently unprecedented, amid the impression that the UAE and Iran are long-standing regional adversaries, in line with the traditional Gulf Cooperation Council stance of opposing Iran’s regional expansion. As a younger foreign policy actor, the UAE was seen as mostly in step with Saudi Arabia’s positions. The Saudi-UAE partnership is at the core of GCC security, especially given the rift with Yemen. 

However, the UAE is showing an independent course from that of Saudi Arabia and the United States, while continuing to stress its close security relationships with both.