DUBAI, 27 March 2004 — The US Embassy in the United Arab Emirates said yesterday it would reopen today after UAE police arrested a man suspected of links to a security threat that temporarily shut down the mission.

The embassy, which is closed on Thursdays and Fridays for the Muslim weekend, had suspended operations on Wednesday after what it called a specific threat to the mission in the Gulf Arab state, a commercial hub so far unscathed by militant violence.

“The US mission appreciates the UAE government’s rapid and effective response to the threat information received by the embassy and the UAE’s close cooperation over the past two days,” the embassy said in an advisory without elaborating.

“The American Embassy in (the UAE capital) Abu Dhabi and the consulate general in Dubai will resume normal operations on Saturday, March 27, 2004,” it added.

The embassy and UAE officials had said that police arrested a man on Wednesday after the mission closed and were questioning him, but gave no details about the suspect or the threat.

It was the first such specific threat against the US Embassy and consulate in the oil-rich UAE, a key OPEC oil producer, pumping more than two million barrels per day.

Around 16,000 Americans and 48,000 Britons live in the UAE.

The United States on Tuesday warned of a heightened threat of attacks against Americans in the Middle East and North Africa after the assassination on Monday by Israel of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the leader of Hamas.

Washington has also renewed a warning about the possibility of attacks by Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network. The UAE said in 2002 it was responsible for arresting Abd-Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri, identified as Al-Qaeda’s alleged chief in the Gulf, and handing him over to Washington.