As Israel enters the second week of its joint war with the United States against the Islamic Republic, its Gulf partners are being tested.
Since February 28, Arab states in the Gulf have been targeted with hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles and drone attacks. The Islamic Republic’s attacks only validate the urgency felt by the United States and Israel to remove the threat posed by Tehran from the Middle East.
Among the countries targeted were Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. In recent days, reports have suggested that several Gulf nations are considering a retaliatory strike on Iran, though none has publicly committed to doing so. Other reports show clear concern among Arab states in the region that Tehran may escalate its attacks on their territory, potentially even targeting senior officials.
Yet, as the shared Iranian threat becomes more obvious, Israeli officials have been careless in avoiding actions that could undermine the very partnerships that have helped reshape the Middle East to the point where Jerusalem can operate over its skies with relative freedom.
One point of significant diplomatic tension arose on Sunday after the United Arab Emirates quickly pushed back on a claim from Israeli sources that the UAE had struck a desalination facility in Iran, criticizing a “senior Israeli source” whom they accused of briefing Israeli media on the situation.
According to a source close to Abu Dhabi who spoke to The Jerusalem Post’s Amichai Stein, Emirati officials were “struggling to understand Israeli conduct and the nature of briefings coming out of Jerusalem.
“It is not appropriate for what is described as a ‘senior Israeli source’ to speak on our behalf or spread rumors about the actions of another sovereign state,” the source said. “This is a sovereign state that makes its decisions independently.”
Gulf states press their independence
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry soon released a statement reaffirming that the country was acting in self-defense against what it described as “brutal and unjustified Iranian aggression.” The UAE “does not seek to be drawn into any conflict or escalation,” the ministry said, “but affirms its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty, national security, and territorial integrity.”
With these responses, Abu Dhabi sent “senior Israeli sources” a clear message that, while the Iranian threat on its soil is real, it will not allow itself to be dragged into the fighting. Should Jerusalem respect that position?
Since being signed in 2020, the Abraham Accords have reshaped Israel’s strategic reality in the Middle East.
Agreements with Gulf states such as the UAE and Bahrain have been a net positive for Jerusalem’s legitimacy within the wider Arab world, while also helping establish under-the-radar coordination with other Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia.
Countries like the UAE stuck with Israel after Hamas’s October 7 massacre in 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed, despite immense domestic and regional pressure. Three years later, these ties remain fragile, even more so under wartime circumstances. Israeli cooperation is still a matter of intense debate.
However, and most importantly, all of these nations align on one key issue: Iran.
The Islamic Republic’s attacks across the region clearly demonstrate its willingness to drag the Middle East into chaos if it helps the regime survive. The Gulf is not oblivious to this threat. These states have already dealt with the consequences of Iran’s missile arsenal, its proxy network, and its other destabilizing activities across the Middle East prior to Operation Roaring Lion.
Gulf states could respond militarily to these attacks. But if they do so, that decision must come on their own terms.
Israeli officials must therefore exercise caution when discussing Gulf partners. They should not leak sensitive military information or speculate about future actions. A narrative suggesting that Israel is pressuring these states to take part in the war will only undermine the alignment that has emerged in response to Iran’s indiscriminate attacks.
When and if the moment comes that Jerusalem’s Gulf partners officially join the fighting against Iran, Israel should welcome that cooperation – but do so quietly.