NEW DELHI: Iran and the United Arab Emirates, whose relations have come under strain since the war in West Asia began, have agreed to “put the past behind us and look to the future”, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, a day after meeting Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New Delhi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit 2026.
“We had a good conversation with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and agreed to put the past behind us and look to the future,” Pezeshkian said.
The Iranian president said the two sides also discussed prospects for expanding economic cooperation, signalling a possible effort to reset bilateral ties amid heightened regional tensions. Pezeshkian also said he held brief exchanges with the presidents of Russia and China during the summit.
“A promising outlook for the expansion of economic cooperation is taking shape,” he said.
The meeting assumed greater significance as it came two days ahead of talks between Iran and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Oman. The Iran-GCC meeting will take place on September 14 to discuss an agreement on transit through the Strait of Hormuz and will be the first such meeting since the start of the West Asia conflict.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, dismissed the planned Iran-GCC meeting, saying he had no interest in the talks.
“I don’t care. That’s up to them,” Trump told reporters during a visit to Ireland when asked about the meeting planned in Oman.
Trump also reiterated his expectation that the conflict with Iran would end this year, possibly around the time of the US midterm elections in November, and predicted a sharp fall in oil and gasoline prices.
“Iran will end right after — maybe before — but it’ll end right after the midterms. Gasoline’s going to drop like a rock,” Trump said.
He claimed Iran was eager to reach an agreement with the United States, but said Washington would only accept what he described as the “right deal”.
“Iran wants to make a deal so bad. They are calling constantly. They want to make a deal. They’ve got to make the right deal. I’m not going to make a deal that’s no good,” Trump said.