What does the UAE’s suspension of trade with Iran mean?

🖌Sara Fayyad, economic reporter for BBC Arabic

More than a century ago, before oil transformed the face of the Persian Gulf, commercial ships between ports in southern Iran and Dubai were on the move, transferring goods, merchants, and capital from one side of the waterway to the other.

Over time, the nature of this trade changed and its scale expanded. Much of it shifted to container shipping, free trade zones, shipping companies, and money exchange firms, and Jebel Ali Port became one of the largest commercial hubs in the region. However, the traditional wooden dhows did not disappear completely, and they still transported food items, electrical appliances, and various consumer goods to Iranian ports.

But today, this relationship—which has endured decades of sanctions and political tensions—is facing one of its most difficult tests.