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UAE calls for talks to defuse US-Iran tensions
ABU DHABI, June 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The United Arab Emirates on Sunday
called for negotiations to defuse tensions between the United States and Iran
after Tehran shot down a US drone.
“Tensions in the Gulf can only be addressed politically,” Anwar Gargash,
UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, wrote on Twitter.
He said the crisis in the Gulf region “requires collective attention,
primarily to de-escalate and to find political solutions through dialogue and
negotiations.”
“Regional voices (are) important to achieve sustainable solutions,” said
Gargash.
Tehran on Thursday shot down a US surveillance drone which it said entered
Iranian airspace, a claim denied by Washington which said the aircraft was
above international waters.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday summoned the charge d’affaires of the
UAE, from where it said the drone was launched, to protest Abu Dhabi’s
decision to “put its installations at the disposal of foreign forces for
aggression.”
The United States launched cyber attacks against Iranian missile control
systems and a spy network in retaliation for the drone incident, according to
US media reports Saturday.
Tehran is yet to react to the reports published by The Washington Post and
Yahoo News.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he had called off strikes against
Iran at the last minute, as such an attack would not have been a
“proportionate” response.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1703 hrs