Israel reportedly deployed an Iron Dome system to the United Arab Emirates early in the war with Iran, and sent several dozen troops to operate it, Axios reported on April 26.
According to the report, which cites Israeli and American officials, the deployment marked the first time the system has been sent to another country outside of Israel and the United States.
Iran carried out near-daily attacks against the UAE during the war, firing some 550 ballistic and cruise missiles, in addition to more than 2,200 drones, according to the Emirati defense ministry.
While most projectiles fired at the Gulf state were intercepted, some struck military and civilian targets, reportedly prompting Abu Dhabi to seek assistance from allies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the deployment of the Iron Dome following a call with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Israeli officials told Axios, noting that the system intercepted dozens of Iranian missiles targeting the Gulf state.
The Iron Dome was developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries mainly to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and shells. However, the system can also engage more traditional aerial targets, like fighter jets, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles.
The system has a maximum range of 70 kilometers. The system has been in service with the Israeli military since 2011. Since then, its effectiveness has been questioned on more than one occasion.
Going back to videos that emerged from the UAE during the war some do show dozens of interceptors being launched at once, similar to the way the Iron Dome operates. These videos all came from Dubai and its suburbs, which suggests that the system was deployed near the city.
Israel and the UAE normalized relations with the 2020 Abraham Accords, which later grew to include Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
A senior Emirati official told Axios that the UAE was “not going to forget” the assistance provided by Israel during the fighting.
Another official from the Gulf state was quoted praising the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia for providing help during the war.
The deployment marks a major development in Israeli-Emirate relations. Iran will not likely tolerate any Israeli military presence under any pretext in the UAE. If the war resumes, the Islamic Republic will likely deal with the Gulf state as a prime target, launching even more attacks than in the previous round.
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“israel deployed iron dome system in uae during iran war”
…it worked just as well as in israel itself…heheheh
youtu.be/nhwqzruxbrm?t=419