Gulf of Peace

A couple of days ago, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had the honor of being the first Iranian head of state ever to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This may actually sound strange if you realize that the UAE has been Iran's largest trade partner since years. The two countries have a dispute about three little islands in the Gulf, but this doesn't seem to disturb their commercial links in any way.

It is well-known that the Iranians are not very fond of the American presence in the region. They feel surrounded on all sides. Indeed, almost all neighboring countries have pro-American governments and most of them also American military bases. You might expect the lionhearted, audacious Ahmadinejad to criticize Iran's neighbors on this point, but he is actually not as gutsy as he seems.

Expressing the wish of wiping Israel off the map and questioning the Holocaust, do not have any serious consequences, since Iran doesn't have any relations with Israel and neither with its American ally. These actions would at the most lead to disapprovals by Europeans and other countries in the world, but at the same time it would boost the regime's prestige in Iran and the region.

The situation is quite different when things really are at stake. Could the regime afford to be rude against its largest trade partner? Don't think so!
See below how elegantly the oh so ferocious Ahmadinejad addresses the issue of the American presence in the Gulf:

"We all wish that foreign troops would leave the region and give a chance to countries in the region to establish security in the region themselves. [...] With each other's help, we can turn the Persian Gulf to the gulf of peace and friendship."¹

Ahmadinejad visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
source image: IRNA / balloons and text by Ponentin

1. Quoted in "Iran calls for 'Gulf of Peace'", on Al Jazeera Net, 13 May 2007; available at http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FA9EB904-7553-4641-B715-C394D2CCF0F1.htm (accessed on 16 May 07).