The UAE is close to Iran. Uncomfortably close.

The erratic and bellicose behavior of the Ahmadinejad regime is a cause for consternation in the West. Might Iran have nuclear devices? Could Iran strike Israel with a nuke-armed missile?

Those questions hit much closer to home, here in the UAE, because Iran is much closer to home: It lies only about 30 miles across the Strait of Hormuz from the northernmost point of the UAE.

And while tensions between Iran and the West are generic and ongoing, they are specific and happening-right-now with the UAE.

The trigger?

The visit by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, to the island of Abu Musa, one of three islands in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz that were seized by Iran just days before the UAE became a country, in 1971. In the 40-plus years following, the UAE has never conceded that Iran holds the islands legally.

Here is the money shot — Ahmadinejad speaking to “supporters” on the biggest of the three islands, Abu Musa. Many of those in the crowd are holding Iranian flags. At one point, the Iranian president was waving an Iranian flag himself.

In a think piece in The National that traces the history of ownership of the islands, the author suggests that Iran’s claims to the islands are spurious and propped up only by military force.

To be sure, Iran is the bully on the block in this neighborhood. With a population of 79 million, it has 10 times the population of the UAE, and 80 times as many citizens, when we recall that the Emirates is about 85 percent expats.

The Arab states in the area, collectively, have fewer people than Iran, and none has the military force to stand up to the Iranians. Indeed, it could be argued that all that keeps Iran from hopping over to the Arabian Peninsula and rolling up a few countries is the presence of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers in the Gulf, endeavoring to keep up the shipping lanes that carry 20 percent of the world’s oil.

The sports world has not been immune to breaking events. The UAE Football Association had scheduled a “friendly” (ha!) against Iran for tomorrow, and that has been postponed.

However, an Asian Champions League match between the UAE club Al Jazira and the Iran club Esteghlal, based in Tehran, will go on Wednesday night here in Abu Dhabi.

When I asked the Iran captain, at a pre-match conference, whether the players were aware of the tensions between the countries, an official with the Asian Football Confederation jumped in before the player could answer, saying: “Please, no comments. This is a football match.”

Still, it will be interesting to see how the UAE crowd reacts to the Iran team.  Any game with Iran is considered important, but this one could have added significance, now that Iran is again a clear and present danger to stability in this part of the world.