Shift in Middle East Order: "UAE Behind April Attack on Iranian Oil Facility"

Lavan Island Facility Fire in Early April

Iran Launches Retaliatory Missile and Drone Attacks

UAE Has Not Made an Official Acknowledgment

With the Iran war continuing for over two months, it has emerged that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) secretly joined the attacks against Iran starting last month. As the UAE joins the United States and Israel, attention is now focused on whether other Gulf nations will also participate in the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time), citing sources familiar with the matter, that the UAE was behind the attack on Iran's oil refinery on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf in early April. This facility, located near the Strait of Hormuz, is a strategic refinery capable of processing about 55,000 barrels of crude oil per day. After the attack, most of the facility's operations were halted.

At the time, Iran was unable to identify the perpetrator of the refinery fire on Lavan Island, but retaliated by targeting the UAE and Kuwait. Iran continued to single out the UAE as a primary target. In fact, the UAE is known to have been hit by more than 2,800 Iranian missile and drone attacks. This is the largest number of attacks, even when compared to Israel, a direct party to the war.

The WSJ analyzed that this indicates the UAE has taken a more active combatant role. Previously, the UAE was engaged mainly in response to Iran's preemptive attacks, but now it is directly involved in the war. However, the UAE has not officially acknowledged this. Publicly, the UAE has emphasized non-military responses. It supported a United Nations (UN) draft resolution allowing the use of force, if necessary, to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE has responded mainly with economic sanctions, such as closing pro-Iranian schools and clubs in Dubai and restricting visa and transit permits for Iranian nationals.

Suspicions regarding the UAE's involvement in the conflict have been raised since March. At that time, fighter jets not appearing to belong to either Israel or the United States were detected over Iranian airspace. According to researchers, photographic evidence indicated that French-made Mirage fighter jets and Chinese-made Wing Loong drones were deployed in operations against Iran, and both types of equipment reportedly belong to the UAE military. H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, noted, "The UAE made it clear that it did not want war, but after Iran's first attack, it had to recognize that the regional situation had changed." He added, "From the early stages of the war, it was only a matter of time before Gulf states expanded their military intervention."

However, the likelihood of other Gulf nations joining the war appears low. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are providing only intelligence and security cooperation to the United States, while Qatar and Oman are maintaining their positions as mediator and neutral state, respectively. Only Bahrain has taken a more active pro-U.S. stance by permitting the stationing of U.S. warships. Last week, both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait temporarily restricted the use of U.S. military bases and airspace in their countries, citing insufficient commitment by the U.S. to their protection, but later withdrew the restrictions.

The Jerusalem Post, an Israeli media outlet, praised the UAE's active involvement in the war, saying it appears to be an effort by the Gulf nation to establish itself as a regional security powerhouse.