THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: ABU DHABI -- The United Arab Emirates, a staunch U.S. ally and a neighbor to Iran, is tightening oversight of government workers and foreign residents because of concerns about the threat of infiltration by Iranian agents.
Some Emirati citizens and expatriates in the civil service have been reassigned or stripped of responsibilities, according to people familiar with the matter. Other private-sector workers suspected of ties to Iranian-linked groups have also lost their jobs, these people said.
The policy has triggered concern that the U.A.E. government is targeting Shiites as potential threats because of the religious affiliation they share with Iranians, rather than because of any hard evidence linking them to the Iranian government.
Lebanese Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri visited the U.A.E. capital, Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday in part to discuss the deportation of 44 Lebanese and their families, all Shiites, from the U.A.E. this summer.
The U.A.E. president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, denied the government was discriminating against Shiites and reiterated his nation's sovereign right to defend itself. "The country does not target any nationality, religious sect or faction," he told Mr. Berri, the state news service reported.
The U.A.E. and other small, Western-aligned Arab Gulf states have worried in recent years that they could be the targets of retaliation by Tehran for any military action by the U.S. or Israel against Iran's nuclear program. They have acquired missile-defense and surveillance systems to protect their borders.
Now, the U.A.E., a federation of seven sheikdoms, is turning inward to address what a government official calls a "significant" security worry: the possibility that Iranian-linked sleeper cells could sabotage critical sectors such as energy, banking and transportation. >>> Margaret Coker | Friday, October 16, 2009
