Iran and UAE Agree to Move Past Differences After BRICS Summit Meeting
Iran's president says Tehran and Abu Dhabi agreed to put the past behind them following talks on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Iran and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to set aside their differences and focus on the road ahead, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, speaking from New Delhi at the close of the BRICS Summit 2026.
The remarks followed a meeting a day earlier between Pezeshkian and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. In a statement shared by the Iranian Embassy in India, the president said the two sides had held a productive discussion and settled on leaving past disputes behind in favour of future cooperation.
Pezeshkian also said he had brief exchanges with the presidents of Russia and China during the summit, describing the prospects for expanded economic cooperation as promising.
The Emirati side has not issued a matching announcement on the talks.
The encounter carries weight because Iran and the UAE have backed opposing sides in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Any thaw between them would mark a notable shift in regional alignments.
Separately, US President Donald Trump said he does not object to Gulf states engaging with Iran, stating that such decisions rest with them.
The Iranian readout of the meeting was released through the embassy's social media account, and no further details on the scope or follow-up of the discussions have been made public.