Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday that Israel deployed Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them in the United Arab Emirates, giving the first official confirmation of a move that several media outlets had reported over the previous weeks. He made the remarks at an event in Tel Aviv and said the UAE was the first Abraham Accord member.
“But look at the benefits that they have had as a result: Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them. How come? Because there’s an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel,” Huckabee said. The comment marks the first known instance of the advanced air defence system, funded by billions of dollars from the US government, being used outside Israel.
The deployment comes as the UAE and other Gulf countries have faced Iranian missile and drone strikes since the US and Israel started attacking Iran on February 28. The UAE and Bahrain are the only two countries in the Gulf that have official ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, which established formal relations between Israel and several Arab states.
Huckabee used his Tel Aviv remarks to urge Gulf states to “pick a side” between Israel and Iran. “Israel is not your natural enemy. Israel is not out to destroy you. Israel is not trying to take over your land,” he said. “It’s not sending missiles into your civilian territories. Who’s doing that? Iran is.” His message sharpened a regional split that has deepened since last year, when Israel launched major air strikes against Doha during Gaza ceasefire talks and six others were killed, including one Qatari officer.
The message also landed against the backdrop of Huckabee’s own record on the conflict. In February, he said he backed the establishment of Greater Israel in line with his interpretation of the Bible, and told Tucker Carlson, “It would be fine if they took it all.” That history gives added weight to his confirmation of the Iron Dome deployment and to the question of how far Israel’s security cooperation with Arab partners can expand while the war with Iran continues.
