Tuesday, March 27, 2007

UAE will not be used in any Iran strike -president

DUBAI, March 27 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. ally, said on Tuesday it would not be involved in any military strike on Iran, but urged the Islamic Republic to avoid regional tensions.

"The UAE is an independent and sovereign state that rejects the use of its territories, air or regional waters to attack any country, especially if it is a neighbour and Muslim," President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan told Arab newspaper al-Hayat.

"We have informed the Iranian brothers ... that we are not party to its conflict with the United States and will not allow our territories to be used for any military, security or spy activities against it."

In January the UAE denied reports that the United States had set up an office in the UAE city of Dubai to monitor Iran which fuelled concerns over ties between the two neighbours.

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