Iran\u2019s foreign ministry issued an unusual warning on Wednesday to the \u201crulers of Abu Dhabi,\u201d the capital of the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
It accused the tiny oil-rich state of conspiring with the United States and Israel against Iran, and threatened \u201cdangerous consequences\u201d unless the Emirates pulled away from those countries.<\/p>\n
Instead, within hours, the Emirati state news agency reported that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the country\u2019s leader, had taken a phone call<\/a> from Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel. He expressed solidarity with the Emirates after the Gulf nation reported a renewed Iranian missile and drone assault earlier in the week.<\/p>\n The Emirates has faced more Iranian drone and missile strikes than any other country since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, including some as recently as Friday morning.<\/p>\n The call with Mr. Netanyahu was one of many signs that, in the face of Iran\u2019s attacks, the Emirati government has doubled down on its alliances with Israel and the United States. That remains the case even as President Trump and other American officials have appeared to downplay<\/a> the attacks this week on the Emirates in the midst of a cease-fire.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a trust premium that Trump will do the right thing,\u201d said Nadim Koteich, an Emirati-Lebanese commentator who is close to the Emirati government. \u201cWhat suits his legacy and what suits the American interests suits us.\u201d<\/p>\n The depth of Iran\u2019s ire has come as a shock to many in the Emirates. While the country hosts a major American air base, it is not a party to the conflict and has longstanding cultural and economic ties<\/a> to Iran, hosting hundreds of thousands of Iranians. Before the war, it was one of Iran\u2019s largest trading partners.<\/p>\n As Iranian projectiles have battered Emirati energy facilities, airports and hotels \u2014 killing at least 10 civilians, all foreign nationals, and damaging the nation\u2019s reputation as a safe haven<\/a> \u2014 that shock has turned into fury. Some analysts said it was the most dangerous threat the country had faced since its founding.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a growing awareness \u2014 both at the leadership and popular levels \u2014 that the intense Iranian focus on the U.A.E. has transformed this war into our Sept. 11 moment,\u201d said Marwan Alblooshi, an Emirati researcher at the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, Iranian officials accused the Emirates of launching strikes in the south of the country. When asked for comment, the Emirates did not confirm or deny its involvement and referred back to an official statement from Wednesday in which it condemned Iran.<\/p>\n The U.S. military later said it had \u201ctargeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not clear why the Emirates is in Iran\u2019s cross hairs more than its neighbors, given that American military personnel and bases are distributed across Gulf countries. Dubai is less than 100 miles from Iran\u2019s shores, meaning that it can be hit with shorter-range munitions than other countries.<\/p>\n It is an \u201cepicenter of globalization,\u201d Mr. Koteich said \u2014 meaning that the economic impact of hitting the Emirates reverberates more widely than when Iran strikes other Gulf countries, such as Kuwait or Bahrain.<\/p>\n Iranian officials have also repeatedly criticized the Emirates over its close ties to Israel<\/a>, which it first established in 2020.<\/p>\n That partnership has grown stronger during the war; the Israeli military deployed its Iron Dome missile-defense system in the Emirates, according<\/a> to two people familiar with the move.<\/p>\n \u201cThese six weeks were like steroids for the relationship,\u201d Mr. Koteich said. \u201cThey showed up when they had to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n The war has led the government to reassess its relationships in the region.<\/p>\n Emirati officials and analysts have complained that Arab neighbors have shown insufficient sympathy and solidarity, and that Pakistan \u2014 which is mediating between the U.S. and Iran \u2014 has been too willing to accommodate Iran\u2019s positions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer this is going on, the more time they\u2019ve had to reflect about their place in the world, their place in the Gulf \u2014 who\u2019s a friend and who\u2019s not,\u201d said Barbara A. Leaf, a former U.S. ambassador to the Emirates. \u201cThey are looking at things in pretty stark black-and-white terms, of friend or foe.\u201d<\/p>\n The country\u2019s relationship with Saudi Arabia, once a close partner, has been strained<\/a> for months. Last month, the Emirati government announced that it was leaving OPEC, a group of oil-producing countries of which Saudi Arabia is the de facto leader.<\/p>\n