CNN reported that the war with Iran has accelerated a major realignment across the Middle East, with increasingly close coordination emerging between the Israeli occupation and the United Arab Emirates as Abu Dhabi grows disillusioned with its traditional regional allies.
According to the report, the UAE took the unprecedented step of agreeing to host a sensitive Israeli military system after coming under heavy Iranian attack during the US and Israeli war against Tehran.
The report revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly ordered the deployment of an Iron Dome battery, alongside Israeli personnel tasked with operating it, to the UAE following direct communication with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The move reflects the deepening strategic relationship between the two sides.
Israeli officials reportedly view the shift as an opportunity to further strengthen ties with Abu Dhabi, particularly as the UAE distances itself from traditional allies over their positions during the conflict with Iran.
Abu Dhabi Reassesses Regional Alliances
The UAE, which normalised relations with the Israeli occupation in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, reportedly believes the war could fundamentally reshape regional alliances. Abu Dhabi expressed disappointment with several Arab partners and signalled its intention to deepen relations with the occupation state as well as with countries that supported it during the war, including France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
An Israeli source familiar with the matter told CNN that amid the limited positive outcomes from the Iran war, the relationship with Abu Dhabi stood out as “good news,” adding that ties had “reached a new level, including at the leadership level.”
The report stated that Emirati officials and state aligned commentators had issued unusually public criticism of Arab states in recent weeks for failing to provide sufficient support while the UAE absorbed a significant share of Iranian attacks during Tehran’s military response.
Anwar Gargash said during a conference in Dubai that the Gulf states’ position during the conflict “was historically the weakest.”
“I expected this from the Arab League and I was not surprised,” he said. “But I did not expect it from the Gulf states, and I am astonished.”
Despite criticism accusing the Israeli occupation and the United States of dragging Gulf states into a war opposed by much of the region, Gargash stressed the importance of maintaining relations with both parties. He told CNN that “Israeli influence will become more prominent in the Gulf, not less.”
Military Cooperation Reaches New Levels
An Israeli diplomatic source stated that the occupation “never imagined this level of closeness” when the Abraham Accords were first signed, pointing to rapidly expanding military cooperation between both sides.
Another Israeli official described the war as creating “an unprecedented level of closeness” driven by a shared sense of fate.
“Both countries were attacked, and the enemy is the same,” the official said, adding that this would “certainly be reflected in broader relations in the future.”
The report also cited an Israeli official who viewed Abu Dhabi’s withdrawal from OPEC as further evidence of widening differences with traditional Gulf policies and a strategic shift towards closer alignment with the occupation state and the United States.
According to the official, the move “further distances the UAE from traditional Gulf policy and transforms it into something entirely different in the region and for Israel.”
Secret Iron Dome Deployment Marks Historic Shift
The covert deployment of the Iron Dome system in the UAE marked the first known deployment of Israeli occupation forces inside an Arab country and the first time the system had ever been stationed outside occupied Palestine.
This took place even while the occupation itself remained under Iranian attack, highlighting the extent to which security cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv has intensified during the war.
CNN also cited a source familiar with the matter who said Israel supported the UAE in its tensions with Saudi Arabia over the Horn of Africa.
Yoel Guzansky stated that the UAE had become one of the closest countries in the world to the Israeli occupation.
He said cooperation now spans security, tourism, science, investment, and trade, adding: “There is no Arab country closer.”
Guzansky also argued that the UAE may have become one of the principal Iranian targets because of this relationship.
“In this sense, the UAE is paying the price for this relationship,” he said.
Israeli Support Faces Limits
The war also exposed the limits of Israeli support for the UAE, as the occupation attempts to balance expanding Gulf ties with its own domestic security requirements.
According to CNN, an Israeli security source said the occupation government was forced to reject an Emirati request for additional Iron Dome batteries because overseas deployments would weaken internal defensive capabilities.
The report further stated that the UAE assists the occupation in electronic intelligence operations through intercepting and analysing signals and communications.
Observers cited by CNN argued that the UAE had already been growing increasingly distant from its Arab neighbours before the war and that the conflict merely accelerated that trajectory.
Tariq Al Otaiba said the UAE “did not realise how far it had moved beyond the region.”
He argued that the country’s increasing complexity has brought it closer to Western and Asian powers than to its traditional Arab surroundings, adding that reassessing its alliances would reveal its genuine partners.
The report added that the UAE is not currently considering withdrawing from additional organisations, but is reassessing “the importance and usefulness of its role” within some regional bodies, according to an Emirati official.
