Middle East: what's happening and what it means

“The Emirates hadn’t realized how much it had outgrown the region,” Tareq Alotaiba, a fellow in the Middle East Initiative at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, told CNN. Middle East has emerged this Friday as one of the stories drawing attention in UAE.

Key facts

• “The Emirates hadn’t realized how much it had outgrown the region,” Tareq Alotaiba, a fellow in the Middle East Initiative at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, told CNN.
• “I expected it from the Arab League and I’m not surprised,” Gargash said, referring to the bloc of 22 Arab states. “But I did not expect it from the Gulf (states), and I am surprised.”
• Israel’s military support for the UAE during the Iran war has revealed growing divisions in the Gulf, as the Emiratis forge new and unexpected partnerships.
• From almost any other country, the answer would have been a firm no.
• But when the United Arab Emirates came under a relentless Iranian attack during the US-Israeli war on Tehran, Israel agreed to deploy one of its most sensitive military systems.

What we know

Going deeper, Israel’s military support for the UAE during the Iran war has revealed growing divisions in the Gulf, as the Emiratis forge new and unexpected partnerships.

On the substance, From almost any other country, the answer would have been a firm no.

Beyond the headlines, But when the United Arab Emirates came under a relentless Iranian attack during the US-Israeli war on Tehran, Israel agreed to deploy one of its most sensitive military systems.

More precisely, the UAE, which in 2020 became the first Arab nation in 26 years to normalize ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, has said the Iran war could reshape its regional alliances, citing disappointment with some of its closest Arab partners.

It is worth noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly ordered the Israeli military to send an Iron Dome interceptor battery - and soldiers to operate it - to the UAE after a call with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a move that demonstrates just how far ties have come.

What they're saying

“Amid the limited positive developments to emerge from the Iran war, this relationship (with Abu Dhabi) stands out as ‘good news,’” an Israeli source with close knowledge of relations with the UAE told CNN. “Ties have advanced to a new level, including at the leadership level.”

“The war brought an unprecedented level of closeness, driven largely by a shared sense of fate – both countries were attacked and the enemy is common,” said another Israeli official. “This will definitely be reflected in the expansion of relations from here on.”

“It increases the UAE’s distance from traditional Gulf policy and transforms them into something entirely different in the region and for Israel,” the official said, adding that the UAE “found themselves alone - and Israel and the United States were there for them.”

The wider context

“In that sense, the UAE is paying a price for the relationship,” he said.

Going deeper, Now, as the UAE distances itself from its traditional allies because of their stance on the Iran war, Israel sees an unprecedented opportunity to further strengthen its ties, several Israeli officials have told CNN.

On the substance, Abu Dhabi would instead become closer to Israel and nations that supported it during the war, including France, the United States, and the United Kingdom, officials say.

Beyond the headlines, UAE officials and state-linked commentators have in recent weeks issued rare public rebukes of Arab nations for failing to step up as the country bore the brunt of Iran’s attacks during Tehran’s retaliation in the US-Israeli war.

More precisely, the stance of fellow Gulf Arab monarchies “was the weakest historically,” Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the UAE president, said at a conference in Dubai this week.

The bottom line

• “I expected it from the Arab League and I’m not surprised,” Gargash said, referring to the bloc of 22 Arab states. “But I did not expect it from the Gulf (states), and I am surprised.”
• The UAE, which in 2020 became the first Arab nation in 26 years to normalize ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, has said the Iran war could reshape its regional alliances, citing disappointment with some of its closest Arab partners.
• The stance of fellow Gulf Arab monarchies “was the weakest historically,” Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the UAE president, said at a conference in Dubai this week.