Israel Further Alienates Would-Be Arab Allies in Attacking Iran

It wasn’t long ago that supporters of burgeoning ties between Israel and Arab countries were promoting Dubai as the epicenter of regional harmony. Israeli influencers were moving to the dazzling Emirati city, which is just a ferry ride away from Iran. Investors were flitting between Dubai and Tel Aviv.

Since the war began last week with Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, the Emirates has waived all visa overstay fees for Iranians stranded in the country. On Tuesday, the Emirati ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, called the Iranian president to express “solidarity with Iran and its people during these challenging times.”

That reflects a sharp turn of events over the last five years, as Gulf governments that were once warming to Israel — seen as a potential ally in their battle to contain Iran — have decided that courting Iran with diplomacy is more pragmatic. And as the war in Gaza continues with no end in sight, spreading anger and despair and fanning the flames of unresolved conflicts across the region, some Gulf officials have come to view Israel as a major destabilizing force in the Middle East.

Residents of Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, are now watching in dread as a regional war arrives at their doorstep, with missiles flying between Israel and Iran. As President Trump mulls entering the fray on the side of Israel, the fear of Iranian retaliation on American military assets in their country looms in the background.

Yet despite the Emirati government’s deep distrust of Iran, to many in the country there is only one party to blame for the escalating violence: Israel, which launched a devastating attack on Iran last week, igniting the fiercest conflagration in the history of the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

“Now the madman with a gun is Israel, it’s not Iran,” said Mohammed Baharoon, the head of B’huth, a Dubai research center. “I haven’t seen any other state, other than Israel, who doesn’t want the war to stop.”