With the Iran nuclear deal progressing well, there are optimistic signs that some kind of regional normalcy could be on the way—the UAE hinted that it will reinstate its envoy to Tehran, after half a decade of regional rivalries between the two nations. The Emirates' ambassador to Iran, Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi, will return to Tehran in the coming days to “continue pushing bilateral relations forward to achieve the common interests of the two neighbors and the region,” the UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported.
Iran is in the throes of crippling Western sanctions, and is looking to normalise relations across the region.
The most recent bolstering of ties was with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, a fellow target of severe US sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran's weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine.
Iran rolled out a long red carpet for Putin at Tehran's Mehrabad airport, where Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji greeted him warmly before he was whisked into his presidential convoy to the city. But perhaps most crucially, the Tehran trip offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea
