The United Arab Emirates secretly launched a major military attack on Iran as retaliation for Iranian strikes on its facilities, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The assault included a strike on Iran's Lazan Island just before a ceasefire was announced on 7 April, raising concerns that Gulf states could be drawn into a direct war with Tehran.
Kuwait has also reported that at least four members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were captured while attempting to carry out “terrorist attacks” on Kuwaiti-owned Bubiyan Island. The Iranian ambassador to Kuwait was summoned to hear Kuwait's protest over the incident, which occurred earlier this month.
The UAE attack makes it a clearer target for Iran if the current precarious ceasefire between the US and Iran collapses. US President Donald Trump said on Monday the ceasefire was “hanging by a thread” due to Iran's failure to make concessions on its nuclear programme. The Pentagon has estimated the cost of the war with Iran at nearly $29bn, about $4bn higher than two weeks ago.
During the earlier fighting that began on 28 February, Iran disproportionately targeted the UAE with missile and drone strikes, partly due to the Emirates' severe diplomatic hostility towards Tehran. The Wall Street Journal report cited images allegedly showing French Mirage fighter jets and Chinese Wing Long drones, both used by the UAE, operating in Iran.
The UAE has so far failed to persuade Qatar or Saudi Arabia to do more to counter Iranian attacks or the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. European forces, including UK air forces, have protected Gulf states, but this has been presented domestically as protecting neutral allies. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Israel had sent Iron Dome batteries and personnel to improve UAE defences.
Divisions among Gulf states, particularly between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have focused on whether Arab anger at Iran's attacks should extend to military reprisals. Former Saudi ambassador Turki al-Faisal argued for restraint, warning that an all-out war would devastate oil facilities, desalination plants, and the hajj, and halt Vision 2030 projects.
