AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Witkoff and Tahnoun met on the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea over the past weekend.
During the meeting, developments related to Iran, future actions toward Tehran, as well as other issues were discussed. The meeting took place as the Trump administration, simultaneously with increasing economic pressure on Iran, is also attempting to reopen the route for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
This meeting came just days after Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, announced the start of a plan called "Operation Economic Outcast," aimed at imposing severe sanctions on countries and institutions that still have trade relations with Iran.
Reports indicate that Bessent had also discussed this issue with Tahnoun prior to announcing the operation. In this context, the UAE has become one of the main partners in US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as in implementing economic pressure on Tehran.
At the same time, the US Treasury Department initiated measures to disconnect branches of an Egyptian bank in the UAE from the US financial system due to their interactions with Iran. The UAE Central Bank also announced that it would immediately investigate transactions conducted by the bank's branches with Iran.
Abu Dhabi had also, a few days before Washington's announcement of new sanctions, decided to halt all forms of trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran, a move that, according to sources, was influenced by the secondary sanctions sought by the Trump administration, although it was not the sole factor in the UAE's decision.
On the other side, on August 11, an Iranian delegation arrived in Abu Dhabi for low-level diplomatic negotiations.
According to sources, Iranian representatives in this meeting called for de-escalation and improved relations with the UAE, and also requested Abu Dhabi to assist in providing food and medicine and not to participate in the implementation of US sanctions against Iran, but the UAE rejected these requests.
Subsequently, increased attacks by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on tankers belonging to the UAE's national oil company attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz intensified the anger of Emirati officials and, according to reports, influenced Abu Dhabi's decision to suspend trade with Tehran.
Meanwhile, Washington has expanded the scope of its sanctions campaign to other countries as well. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has ordered US embassies to send a diplomatic note about "Operation Economic Outcast" to the highest levels of host governments.
The note calls for the immediate and systematic cessation of trade with Iran and the identification of Iran's illegal trade activities, warning countries and companies doing business with Tehran about the risk of US sanctions.
At the same time, the Trump administration is forming a joint task force among various US government agencies to coordinate the implementation of this economic pressure against Iran, an indication that Washington seeks to turn sanctions into a broad and multilateral campaign against Iran's economy.
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