U.S. officials say Israel deploys Iron Dome air-defense support in the United Arab Emirates as Iran attacks targets in the region during the ongoing war between Israel and Iran. Multiple outlets report that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicly confirmed in Tel Aviv that Israel sent “Iron Dome batteries and personnel” to help the UAE operate the system. Reuters is cited by Middle East Eye as saying Israel sent air-defense systems to the UAE to help defend against Iranian attacks.
Earlier reporting cited U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who said at an event in New York that he saw the UAE use Iron Dome provided by Israel to shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at the UAE. The accounts describe the deployment as including a small number of Israeli troops to operate the batteries, with Axios previously reporting such a transfer and saying it had not been widely publicized.
The reports connect the cooperation to Israel-UAE ties under the 2020 Abraham Accords and depict the assistance as part of expanding defense coordination between the two countries in response to sustained Iranian drone and missile strikes against the UAE.