UAE denies reports of transferring funds to Iran

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a statement Saturday to firmly deny media reports that claimed the UAE has transferred funds to Iran, including allegations involving 3 billion U.S. dollars.

The statement said the allegations "are entirely false and unfounded," and reiterated the UAE has not unfrozen, transferred or assisted in transferring any Iranian funds.

On Friday, media outlets citing unnamed sources reported that the UAE had agreed to unfreeze at least 10 billion U.S. dollars in funds for Iran, with over 3 billion allegedly already in place.

AI governance, open-source development and digital cooperation are taking center stage at the ongoing 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Tuesday in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Held under the theme "Open Source and Openness, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits -- Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace," the summit has brought together global participants as AI reshapes industries and economies, prompting debate over the rules and cooperation needed to guide AI development.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote address. He called for a people-centered approach to internet development, while stressing open innovation, digital security and the sharing of digital dividends.

"This requires robust, multi-stakeholder internet governance to ensure a global digital ecosystem that is safe, secure, and fundamentally designed to serve all nations and drive global development," said Li Junhua, U.N. under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, in his speech at the event.

Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group, said open-source models could broaden access to AI.

"Open-source models can foster a global developer ecosystem, cut R and D costs for small and medium-sized enterprises, and bring particular value to less widely spoken languages and developing countries. They also allow developers in emerging economies to build local AI applications and innovation ecosystems without starting from scratch," he said.

Nii Narku Quaynor, chairman of Ghana Dot Com and an Internet Hall of Fame inductee, stressed the importance of inclusion.

"Openness is a simple word, but it carries a powerful message about how we develop technology, share knowledge, and shape our common future in cyberspace. We highlight three dimensions of openness: open documents, open standards, and meaningful participation, particularly from Africa and the Global South," he said.

The summit will run until Thursday.