Trump's Iran squeeze hinges on UAE crackdown on Dubai financial networks - report
The Trump administration has told Emirati officials that targeting money flows linked to the IRGC could hit Tehran harder than the US naval blockade
President Donald Trump's effort to squeeze Iran economically depends heavily on curbing one of the country's largest financial lifelines, Dubai, the Wall Street Journal reported. The United Arab Emirates said late Tuesday it had suspended financial and economic transactions with Iran, a move that could threaten Tehran's access to a major source of imports and a financial back door to the world.
The move follows weeks of Trump administration pressure on the UAE to crack down on Iranian financial networks operating in the country, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. US officials told Emirati counterparts that targeting money flows tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could have a greater impact on Iran than the US naval blockade of its ports. Washington has also urged the UAE to take tougher action against sanctioned Iranian entities and covert networks operating in the Emirates during the war.
"Today, I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences," Trump wrote on social media. "Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies. It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are."
Emirati officials view the latest measures as a gradual escalation rather than a full break with Tehran, according to people familiar with the matter. The UAE is expected to proceed step by step, starting with new cargo restrictions and potentially expanding to a broader crackdown on Iranian-linked entities if the Revolutionary Guard continues its strikes.
UAE policymakers are concerned that Washington's push for deeper economic pain on Iran could hurt the segment of Gulf economies reliant on tourism and trade rather than oil, and could provoke further Iranian military retaliation, the people said. Emirati officials also want to preserve some channels to Tehran to retain a diplomatic option if the US pressure campaign fails.
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The UAE action follows weeks of escalating tensions, including what Emirati officials say were Iranian attacks on seven of its ships this month. On Tuesday, Iran fired two ballistic missiles toward the UAE, triggering the country's air defenses; the UAE Defense Ministry said the missiles targeted maritime traffic and fell into the sea.
Before the war, the UAE was Iran's largest source of imports, supplying more than 30 percent of the country's total, about $21 billion, in 2024, according to the World Trade Organization. In 2024, $9 billion passing through US bank correspondent accounts appeared tied to clandestine Iranian financial activity, with UAE-based firms, mostly in Dubai, receiving 62 percent of those funds, according to the Treasury Department.