TEHRAN: Iran’s landmark nuclear deal is “a great opportunity” for expanding strained ties between Tehran and the United Arab Emirates, President Hassan Rowhani said Thursday.

Iran struck a breakthrough deal with the United States and five other Western powers on Sunday, accepting strict constraints on its nuclear program for the first time in a decade in exchange for partial sanctions relief.

“Regarding the recent development, a great opportunity has emerged for expanding the political and economic ties between Iran and the Emirates and hopefully Tehran and Abu Dhabi will make the most of it,” media quoted Rowhani as telling visiting Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Al-Nahyan said his government was ready to create a joint economic commission “to expand ties in every field, especially in private sector activities with Iran.”

The nuclear deal reached after protracted talks in Geneva has “injected fresh air to the whole region,” he added.

Both Iran and the United Arab Emirates claim territorial sovereignty over Abu Musa and two other islands in the southern Gulf, an issue that has long weighed on bilateral relations.

The Emirates, which hosts a major Iranian expatriate community, was the first among Gulf nations to welcome the Geneva accord expressing hope that it will contribute to stability in the region.

Iran’s neighbors fear that Tehran may ultimately develop nuclear weapons under cover of its disputed nuclear program.