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Why has Iran "targeted" the United Arab Emirates?

2026-03-28 21:29:41Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Why has Iran "targeted" the United Arab Emirates?
Foreign workers watch a cloud of black smoke rising after an explosion in the Fujairah industrial area in the United Arab Emirates on March 3, 2026.

Why has Iran put the United Arab Emirates in the "red circle"?

Tehran believes the UAE is playing an active role in the US-Israeli war against Iran and that any ground invasion could lead to widespread attacks on Emirati assets, two senior Iranian sources told Middle East Eye.

A month after the blockade, which rocked global markets, Donald Trump is considering whether to use ground troops to occupy strategic islands in the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to prevent Iran from disrupting energy supplies.

Particular attention is being paid to Kharg Island, a hub through which about 90% of Iran's oil exports pass, and Qashm Island, which overlooks the strait.

Such an operation would likely be launched from US bases in the Gulf Arab states, which have been attacked by Iran in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which have killed at least 1,900 people so far.

Anti-Iranian sentiment has been rising in Gulf Arab states, where retaliatory attacks have hit a range of targets, including key energy infrastructure.

The belligerent rhetoric has been particularly prevalent from Israel's close ally, the United Arab Emirates, whose ambassador to the US wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week saying that a ceasefire would not be "enough" and that the warring parties should strive for a "final outcome" that "addresses the full range of Iranian threats."

The WSJ even reported that several Gulf Arab states are considering joining US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

However, according to a senior Iranian security official, leaders in Tehran now believe that the UAE has played an active role in the war from the beginning.

According to the official, the Iranian leadership "decided to end a several-week period of tolerance for Abu Dhabi, after concluding that the emirate's role went beyond simply sheltering US military facilities that had already been hit in Iranian retaliatory attacks."

The official said: "Iranian intelligence believes that the UAE has also made some of its air assets available for operations against Iran."

Abu Dhabi has served as a forward platform for Israeli interests in the region, the official said.

He suggested that this included “deception operations” – Israeli false-flag attacks on Oman and at least one other country, designed to appear Iranian.

He said Tehran estimates that “part of this cooperation also included the use of advanced artificial intelligence infrastructure within the UAE to support the collection and analysis of data for US and Israeli targeting, including information on Iranian individuals and locations.”

Close attack

A senior Iranian diplomatic official told MEE that Tehran believes a US ground offensive could now be imminent.

He said intelligence assessments - supported by information from Iran's allies, including Russia - increasingly pointed to a scenario in which an attack could be launched from the United Arab Emirates.

However, the diplomat said that Iran has so far deliberately avoided treating the countries from which the attacks were launched as open enemy states.

For this reason, Tehran limited itself to striking what it considered direct American military targets, or intelligence sites linked to the US and Israel, including some located within civilian areas in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

This restriction would be immediately terminated if any land invasion occurred or if any part of Iranian territory or any of its islands became the target of a land invasion.

"Iranian attacks would no longer be limited to military or intelligence facilities, but all state institutions and interests linked to the state would become potential targets, including commercial assets in which the Emirati state has investment stakes," the aforementioned diplomat said.

"The previous rules will not apply if there is an invasion," the diplomat added. "If any country participates in the invasion of even a part of Iranian soil, that country will be treated as an aggressor."

This message, he said, has already been conveyed to the Emirates.


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