Israel sent an Iron Dome air defense battery and several dozen Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops to the United Arab Emirates early in the war with Iran, Axios reported Sunday, citing two Israeli officials and one U.S. official. It marked the first operational deployment of the system outside of Israel and the United States.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the move following a call with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, Israeli officials said.
A second Israeli official told Axios that the battery intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles, marking the first time the system was used operationally outside of Israel and the U.S.
The UAE sustained more Iranian fire than any other country in the conflict. The Emirati Ministry of Defense reported Iran fired approximately 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at the country following February 28. Some projectiles struck military and civilian targets, including the Dubai International Financial Centre and airfields.
Ministry of Defence confirms UAE airspace free of any air threats during past hours
The Ministry of Defence announced that on 9th April 2026, UAE air defence systems did not detect any ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or UAVs launched from Iran.
Since the onset of the… pic.twitter.com/j2WTxVw3XU
— وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) April 9, 2026
Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force struck short-range missile launch sites in southern Iran to suppress threats to Gulf states before launch, Israeli officials said. The combined effort put Israel in both offensive and defensive roles for a foreign Arab partner while the IDF absorbed Iranian fire at home.
“We are not going to forget it,” a senior Emirati official told Axios, referring to Israeli and U.S. assistance. A second Emirati official said the allied response was “a real eye-opening moment. To see who our real friends are.”
“We are not going to forget it,” a senior Emirati official said of the assistance from Israel and Netanyahu at a critical moment https://t.co/nlpG2dXTu6
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) April 26, 2026
Tareq al-Otaiba, a former UAE National Security Council official, wrote in a piece for the Arab Gulf States Institute that the U.S. and Israel “proved to be true allies by offering support through extensive military aid, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic backing.”
A link to my latest article with @GulfStatesInst on the impact of the Iran war on Arab multilateralism and in particular the position of the UAE. https://t.co/eVBkfH8bK5
— Tareq Alotaiba طارق العتيبة (@justatareq) April 24, 2026
Israel and the UAE normalized relations through the Abraham Accords in September 2020.
