Witkoff meets powerful UAE official amid crackdown on Iran: Axios
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- Axios reports that US envoy Steve Witkoff met UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed to discuss next steps on Iran.
- The talks came as Washington seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while pressing countries and companies to cut commercial ties with Tehran.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoun bin Zayed over the weekend to discuss the next steps regarding Iran, Axios reported, citing two people familiar with the meeting.
The talks took place as the Trump administration seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report.
A source familiar with the matter told Axios that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with Tahnoun before Washington announced its latest economic sanctions on Iran.
US officials said Washington's diplomatic outreach emphasized that countries, companies and individuals continuing to conduct business with Iran risk sanctions and exclusion from the dollar-based financial system.
The Trump administration is also working to establish an interagency task force to coordinate the implementation and enforcement of its economic pressure campaign against Iran, according to the report.
Axios reported that an Iranian delegation visited Abu Dhabi on August 11 for undisclosed diplomatic talks with UAE officials.
According to sources, the Iranian side expressed a desire to de-escalate tensions and improve relations with the UAE.
Iranian officials also asked the UAE to help secure food and medicine and urged Emirati officials not to cooperate with US sanctions, the sources said.
The UAE, however, was deeply angered by Iranian attacks on tankers operated by the country's national oil company and subsequently decided to suspend all commercial activity with Iran, according to the report.
