US Ambassador to "Israel" Mike Huckabee confirmed on Tuesday that "Israel" has deployed an Iron Dome air defense battery, along with operating personnel, to the United Arab Emirates. The announcement came during an event in Tel Aviv, where Huckabee publicly acknowledged the military cooperation between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi.
"Israel just sent the UAE Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help them operate them. How come? Because there's an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords," Huckabee said, referring to the 2020 normalization agreement between the two regimes.
A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the air defense systems were rushed to the UAE to help protect Emirati territory from Iranian strikes. Iran has targeted the UAE more frequently than any other country since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.
Senior Emirati official Anwar Gargash, an advisor to the UAE president, stated on March 17 that Iranian attacks on Arab nations would only strengthen relations between "Israel" and those Arab states that have normalized ties with Tel Aviv. His comments confirm that Abu Dhabi views the war as an opportunity to cement its strategic partnership with the occupation regime, even as Emirati territory serves as a staging ground for US-Israeli aggression against Iran.
This alliance is not new. Military cooperation between the UAE and "Israel" began after the signing of the normalization accords in September 2020, which normalized diplomatic relations between the two. Before this agreement, they had no formal diplomatic ties, though some covert intelligence and commercial links existed.
Another significant element is joint defense-industrial collaboration, including technology transfers and localized production. For example, Emirati defense conglomerate Edge Group partnered with Israel Aerospace Industries on counter-drone systems, while negotiations have occurred for UAE-based production of Israeli Hermes 900 drones.
Intelligence sharing forms a further component of the partnership, encompassing real-time threat data and a joint platform focused on cybersecurity threats. The two parties have also conducted joint naval and multilateral military exercises since normalization.
During the US-Israeli war on Iran, Tehran said that its strikes on the United Arab Emirates were a direct response to Abu Dhabi's role in enabling attacks by "Israel" and the United States.
According to Iranian officials, the UAE allowed its territory and airspace to be used by Israeli and American forces for launching airstrikes against Iran beginning in late February 2026. Tehran has repeatedly warned that any country facilitating aggression against it will be held directly responsible.
The presence of Israeli military assets on Emirati soil, including the deployment of an Iron Dome battery and a significant number of Israeli troops, serves as confirmation that the UAE is actively participating in the war on Iran.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps has explicitly linked its retaliatory strikes to this complicity. Following strikes on Emirati energy infrastructure in March and April 2026, the IRGC asserted that these operations were responses to enemy targets in the UAE, specifically citing US and Israeli aggression.
Read more: 'Israel' deployed Iron Beam laser-based system in UAE amid war on Iran