Israel sent the United Arab Emirates an Iron Dome air defense system with attendant troops to help protect the country during the war with Iran.
It marks the first time Israel had sent an Iron Dome battery to another country, a senior Israeli official told Axios.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to send the Iron Dome battery after speaking by phone with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Israeli officials told the news site.
Iran fired more than 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at the UAE, more than at any other country, according to its Ministry of Defense.
“The UAE has been attacked by more Iranian projectiles than all other GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states combined and incurred by far the greatest and most varied damage within the group,” the International Institute for Strategic Studies said.
The UAE, a financial center and shipping hub, was especially targeted as part of Iran’s strategy to pressure the United States through economic and global trade disruption, the British think tank explained.
Most of the projectiles were intercepted but some managed to get through, hitting the Burj Al Arab luxury hotel, the International Financial Center, an oil hub, an aluminum facility, commercial buildings and Dubai International Airport.
“Primarily, the United States and Israel have proved to be true allies by offering support through extensive military aid, intelligence sharing, and diplomatic backing,” Tareq al-Otaiba, a former official at the UAE’s National Security Council, wrote in an article for the Arab Gulf States Institute, Axios reported.
A second Emirati official said, “It was a real eye-opening moment. To see who our real friends are.”
