The UAE said on Sunday that its ambassador to Iran, Saif Mohammed Al Zaabi, would return to Tehran “in coming days”, more than six years after the Gulf Arab state downgraded ties with the Islamic Republic.

The move is in line with the UAE’s efforts to strengthen relations with Iran “to achieve the common interests of the two countries and the wider region”, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The UAE downgraded its ties with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed its own relations with Tehran in January 2016. The move followed the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by Iranian protesters after Riyadh executed a prominent Shi’ite cleric.

The UAE started re-engaging with Tehran in 2019 following attacks in Gulf waters and on Saudi energy sites amid heightened tensions after Washington quit global powers’ nuclear pact with Iran.

Last year, Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia moved to improve ties with foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran with five rounds of direct talks so far.