The UAE has launched covert military strikes against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
Among the attacks that the United Arab Emirates has not publicly acknowledged was an attack on an oil refinery on Iran’s Labuan Island in the Persian Gulf in early April. That attack came around the time that U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire.
A major fire broke out at the refinery, disabling most of its capacity for several months. Iran later said the refinery had been attacked “by an enemy,” and Tehran responded with missiles and drone strikes against the UAE and Kuwait.
The UAE Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the attacks, citing previous statements about its right to retaliate. The Pentagon declined to comment, and the White House did not respond to questions about the UAE’s involvement in the war, but said Trump had every option and that the United States had every lever it could use against Iran.
“It is important to note that the belligerent was a Gulf Arab country that directly attacked Iran,“ said Middle East analyst Dina Esfandiari. “Now Tehran will seek to drive a wedge further between the UAE and other Gulf Arab countries that are trying to mediate an end to the war,“ she said.
Iran has fired more than 2,800 missiles and drones at the UAE – far more than any other country, including Israel, the newspaper reported. According to sources, the Emirates has since become the “most openly confrontational country“ in the Persian Gulf and has maintained close cooperation with the United States throughout the war.
“They are very strong in terms of precision strikes, air defense, aerial reconnaissance, refueling and logistics“, noted US Air Force Reserve Lieutenant General Dave Deptula, who planned air operations during the “Desert Storm“ campaign. “If you have such capabilities in the Air Force, why should you sit and tolerate attacks from Iran without responding?“, he added.
Last week, a spokesman for the Iranian military's central headquarters, Hatam al-Anbiya, threatened a “crushing response“, if the UAE takes any action. He called the Emirates “one of the main bases of the US and the Zionists, enemies of the Islamic world, and a major cause of instability in the region, as well as the location of a significant part of their armed forces and equipment“.