3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 1, 2026 10:36 AM IST
The world’s biggest international air travel hub, Dubai, was among airports across the Middle East to shut operations on Saturday, as missiles flew across the region after the US and Israel attacked Iran and the cornered nation retaliated.
Visuals of the five-star Fairmont Hotel in Palm Jumeirah on fire went viral on social media, as the conflict came to Dubai, long seen as a neutral and safe hub for commerce. Dubai International Airport reported more than 700 flights canceled. Flights were halted indefinitely at Dubai International and Dubai World Central—Al Maktoum International Airport on the Gulf city’s outskirts, AP reported. Indian shuttler PV Sindhu and Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto are among those stuck at the Dubai airport.
How is the United Arab Emirates placed in the Iran-Israel war? What are its ties in the volatile region? We explain.
UAE’s ties with Israel
The UAE was the first Gulf-Arab countries to sign the US-brokered Abraham Accords and normalise ties with Israel in 2020. This was only the third Arab-Israel peace deal since 1948, after Jordan and Egypt.
The UAE’s condition for signing the deal had been that Israel give up its plans to annex the West Bank, and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu had then said the plans had been suspended (but not scrapped).
Normalising relations with Israel has a reputational cost in the Middle East for Muslim countries, but for the UAE, worries over Iran and the prospect of better trade with Israel and better ties with the US had been sufficient to overcome hesitations. Bahrain and Morocco soon followed the UAE.
After the Gaza war broke out in 2023, the UAE has condemned Israel and sent aid to Gaza, but has not walked back on its ties with Israel. According to the Doha-based research institute Middle East Council on Global Affairs, the UAE today is the largest trade partner of Israel in the Gulf, with bilateral trade in 2024 reaching $3.2 billion, an 11 per cent increase over the previous year.
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UAE’s ties with the US
According to a US Library of Congress report, “The UAE is a U.S.-designated “major defense partner” that hosts U.S. military personnel at UAE military facilities and buys sophisticated U.S. military equipment, including missile defenses and combat aircraft. From 1950 to 2023, the United States implemented more than $33.8 billion in Foreign Military Sales for the UAE, making it the 11th largest U.S. defense customer by value worldwide.”
The Al Dhafra Air Base, south of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, hosts the US’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, which comprises 10 aircraft squadrons and drones, such as the MQ-9 Reapers. It is shared with the UAE Air Force and serves as a critical USAF hub, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The UAE hosts airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, ISR aircraft, and tanker refuelling aircraft. Al Dhafra hosts the Gulf Air Warfare Center, which offers region-specific training for about 2,000 participants annually. Al Dhafra also routinely hosts rotations of combat aircraft units.
Jebel Ali port in Dubai, as well as other ports in the UAE, also host Navy ships and provide logistical support to the US.
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