Iran's economic ties to Dubai hard to break despite Middle East tensions

In the markets of old Dubai, saffron, cumin, pistachios and almonds from Iran still fill the stalls, as if the two shores of the Gulf were not separated by the ongoing regional conflict. Last month, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced the suspension of trade and financial exchanges with Tehran, which has responded to American attacks by targeting the US-allied country and tightening its grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz. But in old Dubai, where Iranian merchants are firmly established, they do not believe there will be a break in the ties forged over decades between the UAE’s financial hub and southern Iran. Since the start of the war, certain Iranian products have become scarcer, and others have seen their prices soar, says Morteza Asaadi, who runs the grocery store his father founded in 1963.

Iranian shop owner Morteza Asaadi works inside his shop in downtown Bur Dubai on Sept 3, 2026. — AFP Most traditional foodstuffs, such as nuts or zereshk — small red berries used in Persian cuisine — remain available, however. “It’s just coming. How? I don’t know, but it’s coming,” he said. Two wholesalers interviewed by AFP on condition of anonymity said they are still sourcing from Iran, notably via Omani ports. “We can’t export from the Emirates anymore, but we can still bring in certain goods,” one of them said. An Iranian saffron seller Yassir works in his shop at Deira in Dubai on Sept 2, 2026. — AFP In Yasser’s saffron shop, the precious spice arrives by air from Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, thanks to the resumption of air links after a brief interruption. Dubai’s Iranian community Dubai is home to a large Iranian community, estimated at several hundred thousand people, which has contributed to the emirate’s commercial development and weathered the various…