(Financial Times-UK) Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan - Like many others, the United Arab Emirates was skeptical of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, but hoped that the deal would encourage Iran to moderate its behavior in the region. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Instead, Tehran has pursued a narrow sectarian agenda that is threatening the fragile regional social fabric. To fix this problem, we urgently need a concerted international effort to contain Iran's brazen regional aggression and curtail its dangerous ballistic missile program. Without greater progress on these issues, the nuclear agreement is doomed to fail. We need a new accord that cuts back Tehran's ability to support extremist groups and sectarian militias across the region; diminishes the ability of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to bring conflict and destruction to other countries; and limits Tehran's burgeoning ballistic missile program, while preventing it from targeting innocent civilians in neighboring states. The writer is Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for the United Arab Emirates.
2018-02-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive