Why the United Arab Emirates is a target of Iranian aggression

At least 11 countries have been attacked by Iran in retaliation for ongoing attacks by the United States and Israel, but no country other than Israel has been hit harder than the Emirates.

The UAE announced that it has stopped more than 90% of missile and drone threats from Iran. As of March 12, the 13th day since the start of the war, the UAE Ministry of Defense’s official tally shows that air defense forces have intercepted 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,514 drones, resulting in six deaths and 131 injuries.

The amount of firepower being sent to Emirates is significantly higher than that of its Gulf neighbors and about the same amount as Israel, which has been hit by more than 1,000 missiles and drones from Iran in the past two weeks. Hundreds of attacks continue against neighboring countries Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Despite the interception, the Iranian attack had a major impact on life across the Emirates. Residents of Dubai and Abu Dhabi frequently hear loud explosions overhead and missile alerts ring out on their phones 24/7 due to daily interceptions.

Airports in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, residential buildings, hotels in both countries, the Dubai International Financial Center, Jebel Ali Port, and the U.S. Consulate General in Dubai were all targeted, even though Iran’s government told CNBC that attacks on its Gulf neighbors were limited to U.S. military bases in the region.

For Iran, the UAE is the perfect place for an attack to simultaneously put pressure on Washington, disrupt global energy flows, destabilize international finance and business, and garner global attention.

Iran could inflict maximum pain on the region and the world by testing the future of the region in terms of finance, logistics, aviation and technology with a state that positions itself as the most secure bridge between East and West in the Gulf.

The UAE was one of US President Donald Trump’s first stops during his second term in the Gulf during a visit to the country in May last year.

The United States has already designated the country as a major defense partner for 2024, and is deepening cooperation not only in defense but also in artificial intelligence technology and investment. This partnership leaves little doubt about where the UAE stands on regional security.

On March 7, Al Dhafra Air Base was targeted by Iranian drone and missile attacks.

The base is located about 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi and is home to the American 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, along with French forces. It serves as an important regional hub for air operations and intelligence gathering, and is home to approximately 3,500 U.S. troops.

“There is no good answer as to why the UAE was targeted more intensively than its neighbors,” Emirati academic and political scientist Abdulkhalek Abdullah told CNBC on Sunday.

He added that the real story is “how well the UAE has been able to defend itself against daily missiles and drones, which are now in their third week. It appears that the country has been preparing for this type of attack all along.”

The Iranian regime claimed it was only targeting U.S. military bases in the region before launching attacks on civilian infrastructure and U.S. financial institutions in the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for the closure of US military bases in the Gulf. Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei also said that these bases must be closed or they will be “attacked.”

The UAE has long prided itself on being a tolerant country.

Although many of the locals are deeply religious, they welcome foreigners with open arms. Approximately 90% of the country’s approximately 11 million residents are foreigners.

By regional standards, the UAE’s reputation as open, wealthy and socially flexible is more progressive than many of its neighbors, including Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is banned and women’s attire remains a subject of great concern.

“This is the global business capital, and it reflects what life should be, what success should be, what prosperity should be, and what positivity should be. That’s what this place is,” Emaar Properties founder Mohamed Alabbar told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Dubai when asked why the UAE was a target of the Iranian attack.

Despite government efforts to maintain a sense of “business as usual,” several major international banks laid off employees from their Dubai branches this week as Iran announced it would target economic hubs and U.S.-linked financial institutions across the Middle East.

Last week, Iran carried out two consecutive attacks targeting the international financial center in Dubai. Dubai’s media office confirmed the incident but said no one was injured.

bank American companies based in the financial capital had allowed employees to work from home early in the war, but many ordered them to do so after last week’s attacks. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are home to regional hubs for the tech giant, many of which have been specifically targeted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. of the alphabet Google, oracle and IBM.

The UAE also wants to position itself as a major hub for AI as the region looks to diversify its economy away from oil. Questions have arisen about the region’s attractiveness as a location for Big Tech investment since Iran targeted it for attacks. Amazon Domestic data centers fail, disrupting cloud services.

Abu Dhabi state oil company’s Ruwais refinery, the Middle East’s largest, was shut down as a precautionary measure after a drone attack caused a fire, while operators in Fujairah suspended some terminal activities amid the fighting.

Iran hopes to disrupt regional supply chains and disrupt energy exports from major Gulf producers by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Targeting energy infrastructure is not new. Abu Dhabi was targeted by the Houthis in 2019, but this latest hit on Ruwais shows the Islamic Republic is moving away from attacks on targets associated only with the United States.