After facing barrages of Iranian missiles that threatened its economic future, the UAE has moved closer to Israel, widening a split with ally-turned-rival Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...and placing it in defiant opposition to Tehran.
This gamble granted the UAE, a tourism hub where 90 percent of the population is foreign, access to Israeli air defense systems to help fend off more than 2,800 drones and missiles — effectively placing protection above all else to preserve a model based on stability, analysts said.
But its closer cooperation with Israel risks further antagonizing Iran, which the UAE views as its biggest threat, and puts Abu Dhabi at even greater odds with Saudi Arabia, which, along with much of the Gulf, has come to see Israel as the region’s main rogue actor.
SECURITY COOPERATION
"The UAE is thinking about the future and sees Israel as the best security partner that can provide cover for its economic recovery," said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.
Their bet appears to have paid off in terms of security and defense.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed Israel had sent its Iron Dome air defense batteries and personnel to the UAE during the war. The UAE became the first Gulf country, alongside Bahrain, to recognize Israel in 2020 under the US-mediated Abraham Accords.
Throughout the war, Emirati officials have lambasted unnamed Arab countries for showcasing hollow solidarity as attacks rained.
"There wasn’t enough of a sense of urgency, while this is the most existential threat that we have dealt with since the inception of the country," said Nadim Koteich, a Lebanese-Emirati media executive and policy adviser close to the UAE government.
"But in this war, the Israelis showed up for the UAE when they had to show up."
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
— including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and "create the conditions" for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said. The ceasefire declared by Trump in April left the core declared goals of the war largely unfulfilled.
SENSITIVITIES REMAIN
Emirati officials have sometimes touted Israeli cooperation as a model for the post-war Gulf. Last month, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Israeli and American influence in the Gulf would only increase as a result of Iran’s "strategy" in the region. But so far, Bahrain and the UAE are still the only Gulf states to have normalized ties with Israel — a sensitive prospect for Arab countries.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he made a secret visit to the UAE during the war, a claim swiftly denied by Abu Dhabi.
While the Abraham Accords initially gave normalization efforts momentum, the trend came to a grinding halt when Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
-led forces of Evil carried out the October 7, 2023, massacre, causing the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
, which sparked fury across the Arab world, with Netanyahu becoming its public face.
His move to publicize the UAE visit was a means of projecting "statesmanship in the run-up to the elections" in Israel, according to Andreas Krieg of King’s College London.
"The Israelis are trying to oversell the relationship," Vakil told AFP, adding, "This is more like a practical security and economic partnership."
The UAE will continue to diversify its partnerships, she added, and expand relations with European and Asian allies crucial to its defence and economy.
UAE-SAUDI RIFT
UAE-Israel ties have presented challenges for the Gulf state since the onset of the Middle East war. Its status as a cosmopolitan finance hub and a top American ally that hosts US military assets and has ties to Israel has made it a prime target for Iran, analysts say.
Deepening Israeli ties have also highlighted UAE-Saudi disagreement over whether Israel or Iran poses the bigger threat to Gulf stability — increasing the gap between the pair since their row in December over Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
Abu Dhabi has signaled it is charting its own path, even if it means shedding traditional alliances, exiting Saudi-dominated OPEC this month, and earlier lambasting the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
It has also taken a more hawkish stance on Iran, labeling it an enemy and expressing maximalist demands for any peace deal.
"There are those who are obsessed about the idea of Israeli supremacy, and others, who are more pragmatic and see it like any other country... that we can integrate" into the region, Koteich said about the UAE position.
Saudi Arabia was contemplating normalizing ties with Israel after the Abraham Accords, before the Gaza war abruptly derailed the efforts. Now, the kingdom, along with much of the Gulf, views Israel as a rogue actor.
Israel launched the Gaza war after the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage. It has also since battled Iranian proxies Hezbollah in Leb
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the
Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is
God is Great, Death to Americaâ„¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s in Yemen, which both joined the fighting to support Iran.
It has also since fought two wars with Iran in a bid to remove Iran’s nuclear and missile threats.
However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
Israel’s lack of willingness to accept threats to its existence have not gone down too well with some other powers in the region. In a recent op-ed, former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal accused Israel of planning to "ignite war" between Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to impose "its will on the region."
IDF chief Zamir is latest top Israeli official said to have visited UAE amid Iran war
[IsraelTimes] US officials previously confirmed Israel equipped UAE with Iron Dome during conflict, but Gulf country denies ‘claims’ of visits by Netanyahu, Shin Bet and Mossad chiefs.
UAE tried, failed to persuade fellow Gulf states to attack Iran together early in war – report
[IsraelTimes] The United Arab Emirates tried unsuccessfully to persuade fellow Gulf states to join a coordinated attack on Iran shortly after the US and Israel launched their campaign against the Islamic Republic, Bloomberg reports.
According to the news site, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed spoke over the phone with other leaders in the region, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arguing for a collective campaign, but his counterparts refused.
This response may explain recent breaks between the UAE and fellow Gulf states, including the Emirates’ decision last month to leave the OPEC cartel.
Bloomberg also reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that Saudi Arabia struck Iran in March, but pivoted shortly thereafter to supporting Pakistani-led mediation efforts.
The UAE was reportedly upset it was not invited to play more of a role in that process.
According to the report, Qatar mulled retaliating after Iran hit its Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas plant — the largest in the world — but opted not to.
US President Donald Trump’s administration was aware of the UAE’s effort to set up a joint military response, and wanted Saudi Arabia and Qatar to join, the report said.