White House envoy Steve Witkoff secretly met with United Arab Emirates National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed al Nahyan last weekend to discuss the Iranian crisis, as the Trump administration seeks to restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz while dramatically increasing economic pressure on Tehran, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the talks.
The previously undisclosed meeting was held on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia and had neither been announced nor publicly acknowledged by the White House. It took place amid an expanding U.S. campaign aimed at reopening the critical waterway to oil traffic and financially isolating the Iranian regime.
The UAE has become an important participant in Washington’s effort to restore maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including the movement of oil tankers. The Gulf nation is also viewed by the administration as a critical player in its broader strategy of squeezing Iran economically.
Sheikh Tahnoon, commonly referred to as TBZ, is one of the UAE’s most powerful figures. The brother of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, he serves as national security adviser and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi while also wielding significant influence over the country’s sprawling technology and investment interests.
The two officials discussed potential next moves in dealing with the Iranian crisis, along with other issues, according to the sources cited by Axios. The White House did not respond to the outlet’s request for comment about the meeting.
The secret talks occurred only days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast,” an aggressive sanctions initiative aimed at countries and entities that continue doing business with Iran.
Bessent spoke with TBZ before publicly unveiling the new campaign, a person familiar with the discussions told Axios.
The Treasury Department also acted on the same day as the Witkoff-TBZ meeting to move toward cutting the UAE branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr off from the American financial system because of their transactions involving Iran. Under the proposed action, the branches would be barred from carrying out transactions in U.S. dollars.
In response, the UAE central bank announced that it would conduct an “urgent examination” of transactions involving Iran and the Egyptian bank’s branches.
The Emirates had already taken a sweeping step against Tehran several days before Washington announced its sanctions campaign, suspending all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran.
That decision represented a major change in the economic relationship between the two countries. Dubai and other parts of the UAE have long functioned as significant trading and re-export hubs for Iranian goods, with bilateral commerce between Iran and the UAE reaching $28 billion in 2024.
Another source familiar with the discussions told Axios that Emirati officials had cautioned the Trump administration that any attempt to economically isolate Iran would have to encompass all of the major countries that continue trading with Tehran if it were to be effective.
Bessent said Tuesday that the Trump administration plans to continue escalating the financial pressure on Iran until Tehran agrees to a peace agreement with President Donald Trump. He said Washington is also going after Iranian assets held overseas that are tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Ahead of meetings with G20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent said U.S. officials are identifying Iranian assets around the world with the goal of freezing them. Those assets include accounts held in the British Virgin Islands as well as high-value real estate in various countries.
“We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime,” Bessent said during a discussion moderated by economist and Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow, as quoted in The New York Post.
“My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one,” he added.
Bessent said Treasury officials have been tracing assets associated with the IRGC and made clear that Washington intends to pursue those holdings as part of its widening campaign against Tehran.
“We are tracking down the IRGC’s assets, and I will say it on worldwide TV, just so you know: We know where in the British Virgin Islands your accounts are at these trust companies,” he stated.
{Matzav.com}
