UAE-US relations are the bilateral relations between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. The United Arab Emirates has been described by U.S. national security adviser and counterterrorism expert Richard A. Clark as America's best counterterrorism ally in the Gulf.
On the defense front, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces have been nicknamed "Little Spartans" by U.S. Armed Forces generals and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis for its role in fighting extremists in the Middle East. played a positive role. The United Arab Emirates is also the only place in the Middle East where the United States conducts pre-clearance outside the United States. Diplomatic Relations
The United States is the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the UAE and has had an ambassador in the UAE since 1974. The two countries have friendly relations and have developed strong intergovernmental relations, including close security cooperation. Relations between the United States and the UAE have improved significantly since the U.S.-led coalition ended Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. UAE ports are home to more U.S. Navy ships than any other port outside the United States.
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the U.S. Department of Justice accused George Nader of making $3.5 million in illegal campaign donations to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before and after the election. . According to the New York Times, this was an attempt by the United Arab Emirates government to influence the election.
In December 2018, the UAE reopened its embassy in Damascus to restore relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a move that went against the wishes of the United States. In January 2019, the UAE hosted a Syrian trade delegation led by a businessman who had been on the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions list since 2011. Economic and Trade Relations
The BBC found and reported on September 20, 2020 that U.S. prosecutors in 2016 charged Dubai-based Guns Integrated Trading Company with exploiting the UAE financial system between 2011 and 2012. A total of $142 million in suspicious transactions were conducted. U.S. prosecutors accuse the Dubai-based trading company of being part of a network controlled by Turkish-Iranian gold trader Zarrab. The network allegedly coordinated millions of dollars worth of transactions for the Iranian government and other Iranian entities subject to U.S. sanctions.
On August 19, 2020, the Trump administration sanctioned two companies registered in the United Arab Emirates for working for Iranian airline Mahan Air. The airline has been subject to U.S. counterterrorism sanctions since 2019 for supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. State Department has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. The sanctions target the UAE-based Parthia Cargo and Delta Components Supply Company, as well as Patia's owner Amin Madouf. Bilateral Nuclear Cooperation Agreement
On January 15, 2009, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed signed a bilateral agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation aimed at strengthening international standards for nuclear non-proliferation.
President Obama subsequently approved the agreement and submitted it to Congress for a mandatory 90-day review on May 20, 2009. Following hearings on Capitol Hill in July 2009, leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued resolutions supporting the U.S.-UAE nuclear cooperation agreement.
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