The UAE is pressuring Israel to sell it billions of dollars in air defense systems.
At this point, Israel refuses.
Sources in Jerusalem fear that due to the Emirates' recent rapprochement with Iran, which is of great concern in Israel, the pressure from Abu Dhabi will be renewed to execute the deal.
The United Arab Emirates' desire for advanced air defense batteries developed by Israel, and especially an Iron Dome and a magic wand, began before the Abrahamic Accords.
Other countries that do not have agreements with Israel, such as Saudi Arabia, have also expressed great interest in such a security deal, on the understanding that the Iranian threat affects all parties.
Following the signing of the Abrahamic Agreements and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, emirate pressure on the issue intensified, but Israel refuses to advance the deal.
The reason is, first and foremost, security: within the UAE there are Iranian elements at any given time, and the presence of these sensitive systems in a country to which Iran has free access, is not something that Israel can afford at this stage.
Despite the emirate's fears of an Iranian offensive and its nuclear program, the United Arab Emirates and Iran have not only diplomatic relations but also full trade relations, and in the West - in Israel, the United States and Europe, the UAE is seen as the main source of international sanctions on Iran.
An alarming rapprochement with Iran
The circumvention is manifested not only in the field of trade but also in the field of banking, with senior and significant Iranian officials using the emirate banking system to circumvent sanctions by various countries, and they do so unhindered by the UAE.
The previous month saw an alarming rapprochement between the two countries, when a phone call between their foreign ministers led to an official invitation from the Iranian foreign minister to visit Abu Dhabi.
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdulhian, "Our relations are developing and intensifying."
As stated, in response to this, the Emirati Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed, invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, UAE National Security Adviser Tahanun Ben-Zayed met a week ago with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran.
The emirate representative then even met with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.
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