Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas in Abu Dhabi with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

:: Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas stressed the importance of stability in the Gulf region amid heightened tensions with Iran.

Maas made the comment on Sunday in Abu Dhabi during a news conference with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He arrived in the UAE capital coming from Amman, Jordan, as part of a wider trip to the Middle East seeking to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the United States.

The UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed emphasized during the meeting that the Fujairah incident was an “attack on the UAE and safety of navigation of other countries.”

Abdullah bin Zayed said that the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Norway were continuing with their investigation in order to brief the UN Security Council of the findings of the attacks off UAE.

Sheikh Abdullah said the strategic bilateral relations between his country and Germany was also discussed, in addition to other issues related to Sudan, Yemen, and Syria.

Maas is expected to meet on Monday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, a German diplomatic source said, ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip later this week to try to ease tensions.