Israel sent an Iron Dome system and dozens of IDF troops to the United Arab Emirates during the recent war with Iran.
While The Jerusalem Post and other media outlets reported the event on April 26, the report had to be attributed to “foreign sources” at the time.
However, with Transportation Minister Miri Regev confirming it publicly on Sunday, such attribution is no longer necessary.
Multiple Israeli officials have stated that the decision to send the Iron Dome battery and interceptors to the UAE was made after Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ).
Dozens of Iranian missiles fired towards the Gulf state were intercepted by the system.
This was the first instance of the Iron Dome being utilized operationally outside of the United States or Israel, though Singapore has previously reportedly purchased and received the Iron Dome, and Romania is expected to do so as well.
Iran fired hundreds more ballistic, cruise missiles at UAE than Israel during war
Military, security, and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has been on the rise since the countries signed the Abraham
Accords in September 2020 but reached new heights during the recent Iran war.
Iran fired several hundred more ballistic and cruise missiles at the UAE during the war than it did at Israel and also launched thousands of drones at it.
Although the vast majority of missiles and drones were shot down, some penetrated the defense shield and struck a mix of military and civilian targets in the Gulf state.
Both the US and Israel, though mostly the US, conducted strikes against Iranian ballistic missile teams in southern Iran to reduce the volume of missiles being fired at the UAE.
In contrast, while Israel and the Saudis both cooperated under a regional umbrella through the US as a conduit for regional air defense, there have been no reports of Israel providing such a system to Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in normalization with Israel, but only if Jerusalem agrees to make significant concessions toward a two-state solution with the Palestinians.