Washington, DC/Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) allegedly carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran with support from the US and Israel.
A report in The Wall Street Journal has claimed that the strikes began in the early days of the war and continued till the April ceasefire.
This points to a deeper involvement than was previously known in the air campaign led by the US and Israel, the report said, quoting people in the know.
It was known that the UAE came under heavy Iran attacks since the start of the war as Tehran targeted the Gulf neighbours accusing them to aiding the US-Israel efforts.
Iran’s attacks on the UAE were fiercer than on the others. It targeted the Emirates with more than 2,800 missiles and drones, far more than it fired at any other country, including Israel.
This could have resulted in the UAE’s deeper role in the conflict. The UAE’s strikes were conducted in coordination with the US and Israel, both of which provided intelligence, the report stated.
“They included targets on Qeshm and Abu Musa islands in the Strait of Hormuz; Bandar Abbas; the oil refinery on Lavan island in the Persian Gulf; and the Asaluyeh petrochemical complex,” the report said.
It further stated that some of those strikes “targeted Iranian energy facilities in response to Tehran’s attacks on UAE oil and gas infrastructure”.
The strike on Asaluyeh, where Israel targeted Iran’s petro-chemical infrastructure, led to severe international backlash. It also led the US to ask Israel to stop striking energy facilities.
The Gulf countries had stated that they will not allow their bases to be used for attacks, before the start of the war. Their position was altered, however, as Iran launched a barrage of attacks on them in response to the US-Israel strikes.
The UAE maintained a tough posture following the repeated strikes by Iran and was reportedly in favour of a joint Gulf military action, a proposal that was not met with enthusiasm by Saudi Arabia that opposed attacks. Saudi also reportedly urged US President Donald Trump to pressure UAE to halt strikes, as reported by NDTV.
“The UAE holds Iran fully responsible for these terrorist attacks and their repercussions,” the WSJ report quoted the Gulf state’s ministry of foreign affairs. Saudi Arabia and the Israeli prime minister’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment from the newspaper. The White House declined to comment.
Saudi Arabia, which has faced fewer and less damaging strikes from Iran, has publicly condemned the attacks on the Gulf, but has taken a less confrontational approach and has worked to resolve the conflict through diplomacy.
There have been reports in recent weeks of growing UAE-Israel coordination during the war. Israel reportedly sent Iron Dome batteries and troops to defend the UAE from Iranian attacks.
It has been reported that top Israeli officials – including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, and the Israeli chief of staff – secretly visited the UAE during the war to coordinate on Iran.
