Mention sanctions to Iranians and their answer is, often, Dubai. As the US has tightened the squeeze on financial dealings with Tehran and other countries have slowly followed, Iranians have sought to do business through neighbouring Dubai, an open, free-wheeling emirate and transhipment hub that has long welcomed them.
But even Dubai, and the federal government in the United Arab Emirates, is now showing signs of unease as US pressure on banks to stop lending to Iran mounts and security concerns over the presence of a large Iranian community intensify.
