UAE conducted covert strikes on Iran with US, Israeli intelligence support – WSJ report

The United Arab Emirates, backed with U.S. and Israeli intel, conducted dozens of strikes on Iranian targets both during the war and the current truce, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report published on Friday.

The WSJ revealed that both the UAE and Israel struck the Iranian Asaluyeh petrochemical complex. However, the strikes eventually stopped after Washington requested the Israeli government avoid hitting Iranian energy facilities.

The WSJ reported earlier in May that the Emirati Air Force was conducting covert strikes on Iranian oil facilities in April, just hours before the Trump administration officially announced that a ceasefire with the Iranian regime had been reached.

At the time, the WSJ assessed that Emirati military involvement in the Iran war signaled an alignment with the United States and Israel. However, the WSJ report indicates that the Emirati cooperation with the U.S. and Israeli forces was more extensive than previously reported.

The U.S. and Israel reportedly provided intelligence to the UAE that enabled strikes on Iranian targets, including Qeshm and Abu Musa islands, as well as Bandar Abbas and the Lavan Island oil refinery, according to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal. The UAE operations were carried out in response to repeated Iranian attacks on Emirati civilian infrastructure during the war. Iran reportedly launched around 550 ballistic missiles and over 2,200 drones at civilian sites in the UAE, including airports, hotels and shopping malls. Iran also attacked facilities during the ceasefire, including a recent strike on an Emirati nuclear plant.

The WSJ sources said the Emirati military strikes on Iran led to political tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. While Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states were also attacked by Iran, the Saudi government preferred joint diplomatic efforts and reportedly asked Washington to pressure the UAE to end its strikes on Iranian targets.

Israel also assisted the UAE on the defensive front. The Financial Times reported a month ago that Israel provided the advanced Iron Beam laser defense system to the UAE to strengthen the country’s aerial defense capabilities against incoming Iranian missiles and drones.

In late April, a senior Emirati official hailed the IDF's assistance to the UAE during the war with Iran.

“In the face of Iranian aggression, several states have stepped up to provide real assistance to the UAE,” the former UAE government employee Tareq Alotaiba stated.

Alotaiba, who currently serves as a fellow at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard University’s Belfer Center, specifically noted that the U.S. and Israel are key military allies for the UAE, “offering support through extensive military aid, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic backing.”

The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office revealed earlier in May that Netanyahu secretly visited the UAE during the war. Jerusalem assessed that the visit led to a “historic breakthrough” in relations between the two countries.