Tehran to protest to UAE over 'anti-Iran activities'

"Despite some slogans and stands taken by the Americans for changes in policy, there is no practical change. An example is their operations in UAE," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.

"Our embassy in UAE will submit our protest" to Abu Dhabi, he added, without elaborating on the alleged operations. "We expect UAE officials not to allow their soil to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The US State Department announced in March 2006 that it would open an office in Dubai -- as well as similar offices in London, Frankfurt, Baku and Istanbul -- to make contact with ordinary Iranians in the absence of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington.

An official at the Emirati foreign ministry said the UAE had not been approached by Iran on the issue, and appeared to chide Tehran for raising it publicly.

"We did not officially receive any such letter, and if we do the UAE always tackles such matters directly with the concerned parties and does not go through the media," the source told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The UAE is Iran's top trading partner, and Dubai hosts a large number of Iranian businesses while attracting Iranian nationals on shopping trips, holidays or in transit while flying abroad.

But Iranian newspapers have run reports of ill-treatment of Iranian tourists and businessmen by the airport authorities in Dubai, including allegations of beatings, insults and retina scans.

Some deputies in Tehran have called for retaliatory measures.

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