Israeli Minister Confirms Iron Dome Deployment to UAE Amid Regional Tensions
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Israeli newspaper Maariv has reported that Mery Regev, the Minister of Communications in the Israeli government, has confirmed the deployment of the Iron Dome system to the United Arab Emirates. Regev stated that the UAE recognized ballistic missiles as a significant challenge, leading them to seek assistance from Israel.
This statement by the minister represents the first official admission by an Israeli official concerning reports that have frequently appeared in Israeli media about the deployment of the Iron Dome system in the UAE. Israeli Channel 14 also reported Regev’s assertion that Israel transferred the Iron Dome system to the UAE during what it termed the “American-Israeli aggression against Iran.”
Furthermore, Israeli Channel 12, citing a report by Axios based on statements from two Israeli and one American official earlier this year, indicated that Tel Aviv had dispatched the Iron Dome air defense system, along with personnel to operate it, to the UAE at the onset of the conflict with Iran. The report highlighted that military, security, and intelligence cooperation between Israel and the UAE has reached unprecedented levels throughout the war.
A senior Israeli official announced that, apart from the United States, this is the first instance of Tel Aviv sending the Iron Dome system outside of occupied territories. Despite the deployment of the Israeli anti-missile system, the Israeli report acknowledged that the UAE has been subjected to the most significant missile attacks from Iran since the war began. Israeli and Emirati officials also noted close military and political coordination between the two nations since the conflict’s commencement.
The report suggested that the presence of Israeli forces on Emirati soil could be politically sensitive within the Persian Gulf. The decision by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to share the air defense system with the UAE might also provoke domestic reactions within occupied territories.
