Cooperation between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has taken a qualitative leap. What began with Tel Aviv would also have sent an advanced surveillance system known as Spectro to help Abu Dhabi detect Iranian drones at a distance of up to twenty kilometers. According to a source cited by the same newspaper, Israel also sent other unspecified weapons systems. "It is not a minor deployment on the ground," he stated. Although many of these pieces of equipment would be prototypes, the most relevant thing is that these are the first documented cases of direct military cooperation between the two countries.These revelations came after the American outlet Axios reported that Israel had deployed an Iron Dome battery in the Emirates and sent several dozen soldiers to operate it. According to this outlet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered its deployment after a conversation with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed. Since the start of the war, Israeli and Emirati authorities have admitted close coordination in the military and political spheres.The fact that Israel has sent a version of its laser system reinforces the idea that normalization between the two countries, following the Abraham Accords, is no longer just political or economic, but is beginning to crystallize into an emerging regional security architecture. All this points to an unprecedented level of trust between the Israeli state and a Gulf monarchy.“The relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates are very strong”, Neil Quilliam, a researcher for the Middle East and North Africa program at the international analysis center Chatham House, explains to ARA. “The current conflict with Iran has shown how strong the ties between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi are, and all indications are that they will be strengthened in this new security paradigm that is crossing the region”.Iran, the shared threat

Both Israel and the United Arab Emirates perceive Tehran as a threat, especially after the latest round of confrontations. Between February 28 and April 8, Iran launched approximately 550 missiles and over 2,200 drones, making the Emirates the most attacked country in the region, according to the Emirati Ministry of Defense. Although most of the projectiles were intercepted, some managed to hit and cause damage, such as the impacts on the Al Taweelah aluminum plant in Abu Dhabi.“Cooperation indicates that the Emirates and Israel share the same perception of regional threat: Iran represents a constant and real danger to the well-being of both states and the region as a whole”, describes the expert. “Their priority is to face this threat head-on. In contrast, other Gulf countries, although very annoyed with Iran, believe that regional security can only be guaranteed by reaching some kind of accommodation with Tehran, rather than confronting it militarily”, adds Quilliam. Along these lines, Abu Dhabi has made it clear that it wants to deepen ties with Israel and the United States, has criticized the response of other Arab actors to Iran, and has shown that the region is being reconfigured.According to the expert, we are already seeing a regional realignment in which Israel and the Emirates are working closely together, while Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan are drawing closer to manage their interests; and Oman and Qatar are intensifying their mediation efforts to try to end the war.Break with Saudi Arabia

In this context, the Emirates' decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+, the organizations of oil-producing countries that coordinate crude production and prices globally, also evidences the shift in the region. This departure has broken with years of coordination with Saudi Arabia, the other major leader in the Gulf. Now this divergence is also becoming visible in the relationship with Israel: while the Emirates have opted decisively for normalization and cooperation in security matters, Saudi Arabia maintains a more cautious position, conditioned by internal and religious factors that raise the cost of a formal approach.The result is a Middle East in transformation, where alliances are no longer defined solely by historical affinities, but also by shared perceptions of threat and shared energy and economic interests.

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Missiles test advertising logic, and the slogan of the grand Al Bahar hotel did not account for the Third Gulf War: "Enjoy a perfect combination of luxury and serenity".

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This article is being written from the 41st floor of one of the many superlative hotels in Dubai. 

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Hejoint US-Israeli attack against Iran It had been brewing for some time in the offices of Washington and Tel Aviv, but the imminence of the offensive didn't become clear until the day before it began. This short window of opportunity and the rapid spread of the conflict, with Tehran's response against several countries in the regionThe closure of airspace has taken citizens around the world by surprise, particularly those who were in the Persian Gulf on Saturday, whether working, on vacation, or traveling. Many are now stranded, uncertain of when they will be able to return home. For this reason, the Spanish government has already begun evacuating 30,000 Spaniards from the region, as announced by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares at the press conference following the cabinet meeting. He explained that 175 Spanish citizens are already flying to Madrid from Abu Dhabi and are scheduled to arrive at Barajas Airport at 7:00 PM. He urged all Spaniards in the area to register as travelers to help keep track of the number of people in the Middle East. A request that the Catalan government has also made—currently counting 1,200 Catalans—with the aim of being able to send instructions for their return to Catalonia if the violence escalates. In fact, the Minister of Foreign Action, Jaume Duch, has assumed that the number of citizens is higher: "These are the people we would like to identify themselves, so that we have the means to know who they are and where they are, and to be in contact with them," he said. According to data from Idescat, 6,115 Catalans live in the Middle East.

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According to the UN, the Sudanese civil war, along with the war in Gaza, the conflict that has generated the most serious humanitarian crisis recentlySince the start of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, it is estimated that the death toll could exceed 150,000, and the number of refugees and displaced persons is approaching 15 million in a country with approximately 50 million inhabitants. The root of the conflict lies in a power struggle between two powerful generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese army, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia. However, the war could not have lasted so long and caused so much suffering without the self-serving intervention of various regional and global powers, and especially the United Arab Emirates, the RSF's main ally.

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This was the title of one of the most powerful images in the exhibition. Resistance in Memory: Visions of Sudan, which I visited a few days ago at the Sura gallery, in the magnificent Balqís bookstore in Madrid. Looking at it, I was struck by a mixture of pain and recognition. April 15 marked two years since the start of the armed conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Far from being a civil war spontaneous, has been fueled by multiple external actors—among them, and most notably, the United Arab Emirates. The filing, on April 10, of a genocide case against the Emirates before the International Court of Justice by the Sudanese government marks a turning point. The text of the complaint denounces Abu Dhabi's direct involvement in military and logistical support to the SRF, including the supply of weapons, intelligence, and transportation.

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It is one of the world's leading arms manufacturers and exporters. Spain occupies the seventh place in the world ranking: for a decade now it has been in the top ten of this list, alongside powers such as the United States, Russia, Germany, China and the United Kingdom, and therefore well above its economic potential. It is ahead of Israel, South Korea and Italy. Its main buyers are NATO countries, especially Germany and the United Kingdom, followed at a distance by France and Australia. In fifth place it has two controversial clients: Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Because of the war in Yemen, plagued by atrocities, Germany and Italy have stopped selling to the Saudis. Spain, on the other hand, has not. Since 2015, at least 233,000 people have died in the Yemen war (there are allegations of war crimes against all sides). The Turkish genocide against the Kurds has not put a brake on Spanish arms sales. After Venezuela, the Arab Emirates are the eighth client of the State: the violations of human rights have led Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands to deny them the sale of arms. Again, Spain has kept it.

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King Juan Carlos I has already been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United Arab Emirates, where he has been living since last August, as El Confidencial has published. In addition, the same information indicates that the infantas Elena and Cristina have also been vaccinated in Abu Dhabi taking advantage of a recent trip to see their father. In this way, the daughters of the ex king have skipped the waiting list that affected them in Spain - the country is barely vaccinating those over 80 years old, as well as sanitary and teaching staff - since they are 57 and 55 years old, and they are neither population at risk nor work in workplaces that are considered essential. In fact, due to their age group and health condition, there is still no vaccination date marked on the calendar. For his part, if king Juan Carlos I - who turned 83 in January - still lived in Spain he would have already received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or he would be very close to receiving the dose, since he falls within the age range that the Spanish health system is currently vaccinating. On this information, sources of the royal house have not denied or confirmed the facts, and have said that they have no knowledge of the issue because the infantas "are not of the royal family". King Felipe VI and the rest of the royal family will be vaccinated following Spanish protocols, the sources added.

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