UAE Provided Intelligence, Air Cover for Gulf Allies’ Strikes on Iran
The airstrikes early this month targeted drone- and missile-storage depots as well as other military sites inside Iran, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The operations marked the first direct military retaliation by Bahrain and Kuwait against Tehran, which has for weeks focused its own retaliatory fire on the two Gulf states. Both host major U.S. military bases.
The United Arab Emirates, which has carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran since the war began earlier this year, provided intelligence on targets and defensive air cover for the strikes, according to the people. The UAE’s role signals budding cooperation among Gulf Arab states in confronting Iran after months of absorbing Iranian attacks.
Kuwait and Bahrain have relatively small air forces armed with U.S. and European jets, but chose to strike rather than allow Iran to continue attacking them with impunity, the people said.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Iran had targeted a power plant and water desalination facility, calling it a threat to its citizens and a dangerous escalation.
The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain and said it “stands in full solidarity with these states and reaffirms its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding their security and stability,” according to a statement. The ministry said it supports a reduction in tensions, including a full opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for Gulf oil exports.
Kuwaiti and Bahraini government spokespeople did not reply to requests for comment.
The retaliatory strikes underscore the difficult position Arab Gulf states face as the war enters its fifth month with no sign of either the U.S. or Iran getting what it wants or backing down, according to people familiar with the matter.
“The war continuing in the manner that it is playing out right now is their worst-case scenario,” said Dina Esfandiary, a Middle East analyst at Bloomberg Economics. “That is because it does not give them the opportunity to rebuild and maintain their image as a haven for stability in an unstable region. It affects their very models.”
Gulf Arab governments had hoped the war would end quickly and let them return to focusing on their economies. Instead, Gulf oil exports have been crippled by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. A new threat emerged this week with a Red Sea blockade and strikes on shipping by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia. Tourism in the region has dried up, and investment is under pressure.
Arab governments are now weighing whether they need to become more aggressive in trying to pry open their critical trade routes.
“I think Gulf countries are beginning to realize that this war will continue for some time now,” said Umer Karim, a researcher focused on Saudi policy and Gulf geopolitics at the University of Birmingham. “This eventually means that they would have to confront Iran openly.”
Some governments are even starting to countenance the idea of regime change in Tehran, Karim said, “because existing in the same neighborhood with this Iranian regime will effectively mean subservience to Iranian hegemony.”
Countries like Oman and Qatar have long triangulated between Iran and the West and have shown little appetite for confrontation with Tehran. Saudi Arabia joined the UAE in attacking Iran earlier in the war but is currently evaluating its position, people familiar with the matter said.