Merve Aydogan
30 May 2026•Update: 30 May 2026
The United Arab Emirates secretly carried out dozens of airstrikes against Iran during the initial days of its war with the US and Israel and continued up to the day after a ceasefire was declared in April, according to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report published Friday.
The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the operations were coordinated with the US and Israel, both of which provided intelligence support.
Targets reportedly included strategic islands in the Strait of Hormuz, the port city of Bandar Abbas and major Iranian energy infrastructure, including a petrochemical complex and an island oil refinery.
Some of the strikes were carried out in direct retaliation for Iranian attacks on Emirati oil and gas infrastructure, according to the report. The UAE’s Foreign Ministry previously said the country holds Iran fully responsible for what it described as terrorist attacks and their consequences.
Noting that the scale of the UAE’s military involvement strained relations with Saudi Arabia, the report said the UAE complained to Washington that the Emirati strikes risked drawing regional energy facilities into the crossfire and destabilizing global oil markets.
In late April, the UAE withdrew from the OPEC and OPEC+ alliance and deepened its security partnership with Israel, which deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries and troops to the Gulf nation during the conflict, said the report.