The United Arab Emirates is pissed after Iran targeted Dubai and other US allies with over 1,000 drones and missiles in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks over the last week – and is now weighing freezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets held in the Gulf state, according to the WSJ, citing people familiar with the discussions. If that happens, it could sever one of Tehran’s most vital economic lifelines.  For years, the United Arab Emirates has functioned as a financial hub for Iran, including wealthy individuals, businesses, and accounts associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). While some of that (if not most) is legitimate business, the UAE has also been used to launder money through ‘shadow banking’ and other schemes – something the UAE has worked with the west (probably not that hard) to combat. The UAE has been a ‘Switzerland’ of sorts – welcoming capital from around the world with little judgement, including happily doing business with Russian commodities traders and bankers following the invasion of Ukraine, despite US officials insisting that they ramp up scrutiny on money flows and crack down on sanctions evasion. In 2022, Paris-0based Financial Action Task Force placed the UAE on its “gray list” for failing to combat money laundering and […]