Iran said Sunday it will lodge a protest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over what it called anti-Tehran activities linked to Washington in the neighbouring state.
"Despite some slogans and stands taken by the Americans for changes in policy, there is no practical change. An example is their operations in UAE," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters.
"Our embassy in UAE will submit our protest" to Abu Dhabi, he added, without elaborating on the operations. "We expect UAE officials not to allow their soil to be used against the Islamic Republic of Iran."
The US State Department announced in March 2006 that it would open an office in Dubai to make contact with ordinary Iranians, in the absence of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington.
The UAE is Iran's top trading partner and Dubai hosts a large number of Iranian businesses while attracting Iranian nationals on shopping trips, holidays or in transit while flying abroad.
But Iranian newspapers have run reports of ill-treatment of Iranian tourists and businessmen by airport authorities in Dubai, including allegations of beatings, insults and retina scans. Some deputies in Tehran have called for retaliatory measures.