UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority made the announcement on Tuesday, Emirati national news agency WAM reported.
According to Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National, the nine—six individuals and three companies—were placed on UAE’s list of “terrorists and terrorist organizations” back in May for suspected connections with the guards’ elite Quds Force. The UAE is one of the United States key allies in the Persian Gulf region. Abu Dhabi has taken an anti-Iran stance in line with the US President Donald Trump. A group of Iranian lawmakers wrote a letter to President Hassan Rouhani in May, demanding that the government needs to review ties with the UAE, after the Emirati foreign minister backed US anti-Iran policies. The UAE has been among Iran’s major trade partners for years now, according to Financial Tribune.