Iran says UAE should not bow to US pressures

The United Arab Emirates should not bow to US pressures to take anti-Iran measures, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi has said.

The UAE is under increasingly intense pressures from the United States to curb trade with Iran, the vice president was quoted as saying.

Currently, the US Obama administration and its European allies are seeking assurances from major oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, to increase exports to the European Union and Asian nations if tighter sanctions on Tehran's energy exports and central bank are enforced in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Rahimi rejected reports that Iran has cut trade ties with the Persian Gulf country. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday denied earlier reports that Iran had suspended trade transactions with the UAE, according to the ministry's website.

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported earlier Tuesday that Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Commerce Mehdi Ghzanfari ordered to stop all kinds of trade transactions with the UAE late Monday.