In a very surprising revelation, the Israelis supplied UAE with advanced anti-air defense systems as it came under attack from Iran during Operation Epic Fury. More interesting is that it even sent IDF troops top operate the systems.
This is according to no less than two top Trump administration diplomats. First, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz was the first government official to publicly confirm that Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was used to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting UAE.
Waltz revealed the information at an event hosted by the Israeli Mission to the UN in New York. “We saw the UAE make use of the Iron Dome provided to it by Israel,” the Israel Hayom daily cited Waltz as saying.
The UAE had been heavily targeted by Iran – more than any other regional Gulf state, with Kuwait also being a heavily targeted nearby country sitting very close to the Islamic Republic..
Axios was the first to report the Iron Dome transfer back in late April, which was accomplished early in the conflict. “Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with troops to operate it early in the war with Iran” – it said, citing two Israeli officials and one U.S. official.
“The military, security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has reached new heights during the war,” the report continued. “The unprecedented deployment of the Iron Dome system during the war was not previously made public.” Astoundingly, this operation involved placing a small amount if Israeli soldiers on Gulf Arab soil:
Israel reportedly deployed an Iron Dome battery to the United Arab Emirates early in the war with Iran, and sent several dozen troops to operate it.
It marked the first time the system has been sent to another country outside of Israel and the US, Axios reported Sunday, citing Israeli and American officials.
The second American diplomat to provide high level confirmation that the Israeli-provided system was active in defending UAE is Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
“I’d like to say a word of appreciation for United Arab Emirates, the first Abraham accord member,” Huckabee said at a Tel Aviv Conference this week. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”
“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice – is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?” Huckabee posed before the Israeli audience. “They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land, and is not sending missiles to you.”
So clearly there is a coordinated effort to finally make public very sensitive information – that for the first known time in history Israel is directly transferring weapons to a Gulf Arab state.
🇺🇸🇮🇱🇦🇪 U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, confirms Israel sent Iron Dome batteries to the UAE:
Can I say a word of deep appreciation and admiration for the United Arab Emirates? I think that the UAE is an example. They were the first Abraham Accord member, but look at the… pic.twitter.com/PV658EXcCi
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) May 12, 2026
While the UAE and Israel normalized relations in 2020 as part of the aforementioned Abraham Accords, there’s been a growing covert relationship between Israel and some Gulf states going back to the early phase of the Syrian proxy war.
Israel and the Sunni autocrats conspired to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, a longtime key ally of Iran, and they cooperated on funding and supplying anti-Damascus jihadi insurgents. Out of this shadow war came a greater mutual understanding.