Far Away, So Close

Following the shaky ceasefire agreed by Iran and the USA on 8 April 2026, Western allies have pledged support to regional partners, still reeling from the intense asymmetric warfare waged by Tehran against its Arab neighbours. While on the diplomatic front NATO plans to invite members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) to its next Summit of Heads of State and Governments in Ankara, Türkiye, this coming 7-8 July, a parallel online meeting involving more than 40 defence ministers has already yielded tangible material contributions.

The UK, for instance, announced a comprehensive package for a joint naval mission aimed at safeguarding shipping in the volatile Strait of Hormuz. This deployment features the air defence destroyer HMS Dragon, alongside Typhoon jets, mine-hunting drones and advanced counter-UAV systems. The move follows France’s redeployment of the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea: a clear exercise in power projection, signalling Paris’ willingness to safeguard freedom of navigation through vital maritime chokepoints.

While maintaining the ceasefire is viewed by many allies as a non-negotiable precondition for risk-averse regional engagement, other actors are nevertheless pushing for a more assertive stance against Tehran. Reports suggested that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system, as well specialised operational personnel, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the height of the hostilities. If fully confirmed, this deployment represents a historic precedent: the first operational deployment of the Iron Dome in an Arab country.

As co-signatories of the 2020 Abraham Accords, Israel and the UAE have nurtured a defence partnership that has rapidly intensified during the Gulf war. While Abu Dhabi was withstanding a relentless barrage of nearly 3.000 drones and missiles up to April 2026, Israeli intelligence heads including David Barnea of Mossad and David Zini of Shin Bet reportedly conducted unverified, high-level visits to the UAE. The visits have not been confirmed by both Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The purpose of the visits has reportedly been real-time intelligence sharing, early detection and interception of missile vectors, and joint target selection. The results of this military collaboration are only now coming to light in the aftermath of the ceasefire. Most notably, recent publications revealed that the UAE had covertly carried out a direct airstrike against the oil refinery on Iran’s Lavan: a retaliatory action that sets Abu Dhabi’s wartime doctrine apart from its more cautious Gulf peers. Reports that Saudi Arabia had also carried out airstrikes against targets in Iran, only emerged after news about UAE’s retaliation, highlighting a bitter geopolitical competition between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh rather than a united front against Tehran.

The military collaboration between Israel and the UAE is highly consequential for regional security, confirming a strategic alignment endorsed by the leaderships of both countries. Details of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UAE, where he met with President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, have started to emerge only now, via the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. The meeting has been denied by Emirati sources, who remain sensitive to public backlash over strong ties with Israel that, despite criticism from the Arab world, have not been called into question during or after the war in Gaza. Ultimately, the rendez-vous has driven another wedge between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with Riyadh remaining deeply wary of Israel’s regional encroachments and the deepening entanglement between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.