The United Arab Emirates says its ambassador to Iran, Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi, will resume his duties at the embassy in Tehran in the coming days.

The UAE's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the decision was made "in line with UAE efforts to strengthen relations with Iran and as part of a previous decision to increase diplomatic representation to the rank of ambassador.”

Noting that the decision followed a recent phone call between the two countries’ foreign ministers Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held on July 26, 2022, the ministry said the move contributes to “further advancing bilateral relations in cooperation with officials in Iran to achieve the common interests of the two countries and the wider region.”

The UAE had recalled its ambassador from Tehran in 2012 after the then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Abu Musa island as part of a tour of Iran’s Persian Gulf coast. Located 60 kilometers off the UAE, the Persian Gulf country claims it as sovereign territory along with the Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran, which claimed control of the islands in 1971, at various points provided documents that indicate the islands were rented out to Arabs during the British colonial period.

Earlier in the month, Kuwait also appointed an ambassador to Iran, more than six years after recalling its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after it severed ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016. Ambassador Bader Abdullah Al-Munaikh handed his credentials to Amir-Abdollahian on August 13, as Riyadh works to improve ties with the Islamic Republic.