Iran’s Oil Buyer and Rival, U.A.E. May Be Cracking Down on Trade

The United Arab Emirates, which has a history of talking tough on Iran while still buying its oil, appears to be taking steps to comply with looming U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s energy industry.

Dubai is the U.A.E.’s main importer of Iranian oil. The country’s biggest city buys a light oil called condensate that’s produced in Iran’s natural gas fields and refines it into jet fuel and other products for local use. The U.A.E. port of Fujairah, the Middle East’s biggest oil-trading hub, provides storage for Iranian fuel oil that supplies vessels plying the Indian Ocean.