The UAE leader, Mohammed bin Zayed, aka MBZ, is caught up in another controversy with Erik Prince, founder of the notorious security firm Blackwater. The ghosts of past deeds, including 1MBD scandal (internal) and lobbying against Iran, are now haunting the Emirati sheikh.

Recently, the CNN reported that Erik Prince, who was also an unofficial advisor to now US President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign, pushed for the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. A classified memo by Erik Prince was circulated within Trump’s inner-circle, elaborating his approach to deal with Iran.

On September 8, 2015, Prince wrote in the memo, “Qasem Soleimani is the Heinrich Himmler of the Iranian State,” calling Soleimani as the “muscle” supporting Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The pitch was emailed to Steve Bannon, in charge of the website Breitbart, who shared the memo with then Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

Erik Prince’s collaboration with MBZ

Erik Prince-MBZ relations date back to 2009 when Prince was contracted to establish a sophisticated counter-terrorism unit in UAE. After the first meeting, they built a strong connection as they both shared a common enemy, Iran.

When Erik Prince was introduced to the royals and government officials in Abu Dhabi, MBZ referred Prince as ‘his guy’.

The shrewed MBZ realized that Prince was a salient supporter of Trump and he had close connections with Steve Bannon.

On January 11, 2017, shortly before Trump’s inauguration, a meeting was held at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Seychelles, between businessman George Nader, Erik Prince, MBZ and his Russian counter-part. This was MBZ’s initial efforts to establish a confidential line of communication with the Trump administration regarding UAE’s interests in the Middle East.

In August 2016, Erik Prince, Trump Jr. and George Nader met at Trump Tower to discuss Iran policy, Prince recalled in March 2019 during the Mueller investigation.

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It is speculated that meeting’s agenda was to discuss policies on dealing with wars in Yemen, Syria, and Libya, growing ISIS trace, and the UAE’s long-time rivalry with Iran. It could be then, during the meeting, MBZ may have possibly lobbied Erik Prince for the killing of Gen Qasem Soleimani by the US forces.

The Special Counsel investigation confirmed collaboration between MBZ and Erik Prince for shaping the policies in the Middle East, but this new revelation can put the Emirati leader in troubled waters.

Source — https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/09/politics/pompeo-trump-iran-soleimani/index.html