Press TV - An Iranian businessman with a key role in trade between the country and the United Arab Emirates has dismissed reports about a suspension of commercial ties with Abu Dhabi, saying Iranian merchants can take delivery of goods stored in UAE ports provided they submit health certificate documents to authorities in the Arab country.

Farshid Farzanegan, who leads Iran-UAE Joint Chamber of Commerce, said on Thursday that providing documents that prove consignments are free from the new coronavirus infection have become mandatory for all ships �docking at UAE ports, including the Iranian vessels.

�This preventive measure has been intensified to control the spread of the coronavirus and a move to cut or terminate trade between Iran and the UAE, as reported in some news agencies, is void of any journalistic truth,� said Farzanegan in a post on his Twitter page.

The comments came a day after mass-circulation Persian daily Jame Jam said in a report that the UAE had suspended its trade with Iran despite the fact that it had resumed imports and exports with other countries after a period of closure of the harbors and airports in the Arab country over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report said Iranian merchants have been waiting for weeks to be able to take delivery of massive cargoes that are in Dubai and other UAE ports.

�A shortage of goods in the (Iranian) market shows that (any) maritime transport with Dubai is yet to take place,� said the newspaper report.

However, Farzanegan told the official IRNA news agency that the UAE, Iran�s second trade partner after China, would continue to process a huge part of Tehran�s imports and exports.

He said the UAE is one of the few countries in the world that has managed to preserve its trade ties with other countries even at the height of the pandemic in April and May.