Mossad chief David Barnea secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during Israel’s war with Iran to help coordinate military operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing Arab officials and another person familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Barnea visited the UAE at least twice, in March and April, in what the newspaper described as a sign of a deepening partnership between Israel and the Gulf state.
The Journal said Israel and the UAE maintained close security coordination throughout the war. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that Israel sent Iron Dome batteries and dozens of troops to the UAE to operate them and help defend the country against Iranian fire.
“I want to say a word of appreciation to the United Arab Emirates, the first member of the Abraham Accords,” Huckabee said at a Tel Aviv University conference. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”
The Journal also reported earlier this week that the UAE carried out military strikes inside Iran, though Abu Dhabi has not publicly acknowledged doing so. The reported strikes included an attack in early April on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island, around the time President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire.
The strike reportedly sparked a large fire and disabled a significant part of the facility’s production capacity. Iran said at the time that the refinery had been hit in an enemy attack and responded by launching missiles and drones toward the UAE and Kuwait.
One person familiar with the matter told the Journal that the United States was not troubled by the UAE strike because the ceasefire had not yet fully taken effect, and quietly welcomed participation by the UAE or any other Gulf state willing to join the fighting.
The UAE Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem did not respond to the Journal’s requests for comment.