Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Abu Dhabi has raised some of Tehran's deepest suspicions of the UAE.
Iranian officials and media portrayed the meeting as the latest evidence of the growing security partnership between Israel and the UAE against the Islamic Republic.
These concerns, as well as the perception of the UAE as a security threat, have escalated since the recent war during which Iran repeatedly targeted US interests stationed in the UAE as well as UAE energy infrastructure.
However, the tensions go beyond war. Emirati relations with Israel, the UAE’s proximity to Iran and the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and the long-running dispute over three islands in the Gulf, along with extensive economic ties with Iran, have all created a complex relationship in which deep mistrust collides with the reality of economic interdependence.
Why did Netanyahu's visit anger Tehran?
After the Israeli Prime Minister visited Abu Dhabi on September 27 and met with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei warned countries in the region that Israel’s use of its territory to target Iran could lead to “extremely dangerous consequences.”
Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, was more clear. He said: "Just as hosting American military bases did not bring you security, hosting the 'Butcher of Gaza' will not have good consequences either."
Rezaei also called on the countries of the region to stop what he described as “baseless allegations” regarding the three Gulf islands belonging to Iran, in a post on the X platform.
The mention of the islands was not incidental in this warning. Just days ago, the UAE renewed its claim to the Gulf islands under Iranian control in the United Nations General Assembly, namely Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb.
Tehran responded again by saying that its sovereignty over these islands “is not open to negotiation.”
Iranian newspapers went further.
The headline of the Watan Emroz newspaper stated: “When the sheikhs of the Emirates act as foot soldiers for Trump and Bibi,” and described the Gulf neighbor as “the Zionist company of the Emirates.”
Other media also portrayed Abu Dhabi as facilitating Israeli-led security coordination against Iran, and speculated that the meeting could lead to a broader regional security alliance.
Why is Tehran focused on the UAE?
The immediate reason may be geography. The UAE is located directly across the Gulf from Iran, and is adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor that is currently at the heart of the US-Iranian conflict.
Abu Dhabi also hosts significant Western military infrastructure, while the UAE has developed alternative ports and routes around the Strait of Hormuz, particularly in Fujairah.
For Tehran, this poses a more serious security challenge.
During the war, Iranian officials repeatedly accused the Gulf states of allowing their territory, airspace, or military facilities to be used by the United States and Israel.
In one of his statements, Baghaei said that “the adjacent areas on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf” were used to plan and prepare attacks against Iran.
Following this, Iran launched repeated missile and drone attacks against targets in the UAE, targeting not only US bases, but also civilian and energy infrastructure.
Iranian officials described these strikes as a response to military facilities that participated in the attacks on Iran, while the UAE authorities and other governments rejected the justifications provided by Tehran.
Thus, the war only added to pre-existing Iranian suspicions that the UAE was not only hosting US forces, but had become increasingly integrated into a US-Israeli security network.
What is the role of the Gulf islands and the “Abraham Accords”?
The dispute over the three islands dates back decades before current relations between Israel and the UAE.
For Iran, these islands represent a non-negotiable issue of sovereignty and an essential element of its strategic position in the Gulf.
The UAE confirms that the islands are Emirati lands “occupied” by Iran, and has repeatedly called for international negotiation or arbitration. In this context, it received full political support from major Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia.
As for Tehran, it has repeatedly described the islands as “an integral part of Iranian territory.”
Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, wrote in a post on the
He also reiterated that the islands are Iranian and criticized the UAE's hosting of Netanyahu.
Feelings of threat were significantly enhanced by the “Abraham Accords” signed in 2020.
When the agreement was signed at the time, it sparked a wave of strong condemnations from the then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who accused Abu Dhabi of betraying “the Islamic world, the Arab world, the countries of the region, and the Palestinian cause.”
He said that the UAE helped the Israelis "set their foot in the region."
Six years later, this position returned to form the basis of the current discourse on a “second Israel.”
Despite all the challenges facing the agreements, especially after the Gaza War in 2023, the path of Arab-Israeli normalization was viewed in Tehran as a dangerous precedent.
The debate over the agreements has gained additional political weight as it now overlaps with the broader competition over Gulf security.
The "Pars Today" website linked to the Iranian state described the relationship as going beyond diplomatic and economic ties towards "security, intelligence and military" cooperation.
In a report published by the site on October 1, it claimed that there was Israeli intelligence coordination with Abu Dhabi during the 2026 conflict, allegations that were also raised publicly by lawmakers and commentators.
When economic dependence poses a strategic dilemma
Dubai has long been a vital trade gateway for Iranian imports, re-exports and basic financial transactions, especially in light of strict international sanctions.
This economic relationship has withstood years of political tension.
This means that the strategic dilemma for Tehran has become more acute.
While Iranian hardliners describe Abu Dhabi as a “hostile base” or a “second Israel,” especially when Israeli leaders are received there, the UAE remains geographically close, economically important, and deeply involved in the regional trading system on which Iran itself relies heavily.
This concern may explain why Iranian rhetoric threatens Abu Dhabi and at the same time urges it to distance itself from Washington and Israel.
The broader Iranian calculations are not just about Netanyahu's recent visit, but rather revolve around whether the UAE is becoming a permanent part of an Israeli-led security structure, a structure that Tehran has spent years trying to dismantle, as well as the extent to which it can challenge this transformation without harming its own economic and diplomatic interests.
