Iran’s Lavan Island is an export hub for Iran’s oil, as well as being a place where Tehran stores oil. It is second in importance only to Kharg Island in its role in oil exports and storage. The UAE struck it in April, setting off a major fire at an oil storage facility.
Now the Americans have urged the UAE to seize Lavan Island, in order to avoid having to put American troops on the ground to do the job. Use of such ground troops would make the ongoing conflict with Iran still more unpopular at home, and the Americans want the Gulf Arab states to do their part in the campaign to end Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
More on this American encouragement for the UAE to seize Lavan Island can be found here: “Trump admin. urging UAE to seize Iran’s Lavan Island, take greater role in war – report,” Jerusalem Post, May 17, 2026:
The Trump administration is reportedly encouraging the UAE to become more directly involved in the war against Iran, with some officials suggesting Abu Dhabi seize Iran’s Lavan Island according to a report from the Telegraph.
A former senior Trump security official told the Telegraph that using UAE forces would avoid putting US troops in the line of fire.
“Go take ’em!” the official said. “It would be UAE boots on the ground instead of the US.”
The push comes amid disclosures about the UAE’s increasing engagement in the Iran conflict and its growing ties with Israel.
The UAE has faced heavy Iranian retaliation since Israel and the US began striking Iran in late February, including a reported more than 2,800 missiles and drones.
The attacks have become a turning point for the UAE, pushing it to reassess its defense strategy, alliances, and regional role. The war has strengthened the UAE’s ties with the US and Israel, while deepening tensions with Gulf neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
According to the Telegraph, the UAE reportedly asked Saudi Arabia and Qatar to join counterattacks against Iran early in the war, but those efforts were unsuccessful….
The Emiratis have discovered that Israel is a more valuable ally than Saudi Arabia and Qatar, willing and able to strike Iran while the Gulf Arab states hold back. This appreciation of Israel in the UAE continues to increase, and will survive beyond the current conflict with Iran.
Iran has launched almost 3,000 ballistic and cruise missiles, and drones against the UAE, setting off fires in oil production facilities and causing great damage to its energy infrastructure. In addition, a senior Iranian leader has threatened the UAE specifically, claiming that after the Americans leave the Gulf region, Iran will settle its score with UAE, delivering a “crushing blow” to the Emirates.
The Israelis sent Iron Dome anti-missile systems, along with dozens of IDF personnel to operate them, as soon as the Emirates asked for them. Many lives were saved thanks to the Iron Dome interceptions. No Gulf Arab state has supplied weapons to the Emirates, nor have any of them agreed to attack Iran to relieve its military pressure on the Emirates. This has not been lost on the Emiratis; they can count only on Israel for help in defending themselves against Iran.
Not only Netanyahu, but the head of Mossad, David Barnea, the head of the Shin Bet, David Zini, and the Israeli Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, have all made visits to Abu Dhabi to share their intelligence on Iran, to discuss arms transfers from Israel, and to plan a common strategy against the Islamic Republic.
The UAE no longer cares what the other Arab states think of its collaboration with Israel. It is Israel, not those states, that has provided indispensable help to the UAE in protecting its population from Iran’s missiles and drones. It is Israel, not the other Arab states, that provides the UAE with intelligence on Iran provided by Mossad’s unrivaled network of agents. It is one of Israel’s major defense contractors, Elbit Systems, that has sold the UAE weapons that is military needs, including — a few months ago — $2.3 billion worth of new defense systems to protect military and civilian aircraft. In addition, the UAE has purchased other Israeli-made air defense systems, including batteries of the Barak MX system manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Israel has also loaned advanced laser defense systems (such as the Iron Beam) to the UAE to help defend against incoming drone and missile strikes. Finally, state-backed Emirati defense firms (such as EDGE) have partnered with Israeli counterparts to co-develop military technologies, including unmanned vessels for submarine detection and advanced drone-detecting sensors. The military ties between the UAE and Israel are now so varied and important, that they will survive and deepen even after the conflict with Iran has ended.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
That is a risky move from a PR standpoint in Iran. Right now, so far, the US has widespread support among the Iranian people not just for hammering the islamic regime, but also for seemingly upholding Iran’s territorial integrity – something that Pahlavi has listed as a non-negotiable. Similarly, Iranians are also touchy about symbolic things, like calling the Gulf the “Persian Gulf”, like it has always been known
However, if the US supports any Arab country seizing any part of Iranian territory, that may not be looked kindly on by the people of Iran. It may sour their attitudes towards US, particularly if it isn’t returned to them once the regime is changed
As for the Emirati appreciation for Israel, I’ll trust that if and when they tell Jerusalem – by private channels if they so wish – that they would no longer object if Jerusalem decides to annex Judea and Samaria – something that the Emirates managed to get Israel to put off indefinitely while signing the Abraham Accords. Otherwise, I’d trust them to be what muslims always are – unappreciative and ungrateful. Let’s not forget the adventures that the Emirates currently bankrolls in both Yemen and Sudan, where they’re backing not moderate, secularizing forces but jihadist armies in both cases
Wellington says
Agreed with what you wrote, Infidel. Negotiating between Persian and Arab is not an easy task and just one more example of the hornet’s nest Trump has poked.
He needed to poke this nest but he had better poke it optimally, and when dealing with such failed peoples as the Arabs and Persians (yes, who could convincingly argue that the Arabs and Persians have their act together?—both have been a drag on mankind big time) I have to wonder if there really does exist a good option out there.
Seems Trump has to choose between the least bad option. I hope he chooses well. Time will tell. Oh, btw, the Arab world from around the 1960s onwards started to refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf, which is just indicative of how careful Trump has to be moving forward between two failed peoples.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Wellington
If the Iranians were anything like Kurds – still loyal to islam, I’d treat them on par w/ Arabs, and not really care about who beats whom. However, like Robert, I do tend to believe the GAMAAN data that only 35-40% of them are still muslim (probably even less, since that survey was taken in 2020, whereas a lot of water – w/ blood – has flowed under the bridge since then), and the trend is going down, not up. The end scenario would be a non-islamic Iran, driven by a de-islamized Iranian population, which as Armin Navabi said, is the world’s most islamophobic population. They don’t have to be as great as the Greeks or Romans or Americans or Israelis: they just have to be significantly better than their muslim neighbors to gain our qualified support
So for the day after, this time unlike 1992 w/ Russia, I do hope that we can have the same sort of relations w/ a deislamized Iran that we had w/ the Pahlavi Iran of the 20th century. But that can only happen if we don’t incur the resentment of those people by siding w/ their enemies. Early last year, we mucked it up w/ India, when we treated them on par w/ Pakistan, and forced them to have a ceasefire and renewed humoring Pakistan, despite the fact that we had an excellent relationship w/ India under Trump 45 (which Modi screwed up in 2021 after condemning January 6th, which he had no business commenting on), turning Indian public opinion against the US. Last thing we need to do is repeat that w/ the Iranians. Given the hostility of muslims towards US, we should ideally have multiple allies disrupting that continuous islamic empire – Israel, Armenia, Iran, India…..
GE says
I agree with you, Infidel. But I fear for Armenia. Pashinyan is the Armenian version of Obama—constantly appeasing Azerbaijan.
Just my opinion of course, but he’s warring with the Catholicos of the Apostolic Church and constantly kow-towing to Aliyev—a disgrace.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
GE
Since Trump negotiated an Armenian-Azeri truce, as one of his attempts to get the Nobel Prize, I think he might be a tad interested in seeing that that conflict doesn’t erupt again. In other words, preventing Baku from horning in on more Armenian real estate
Putin has been pretty stupid on this – letting a very friendly Armenia shift into the arms of the US, thanks to his unqualified support to Baku on the Artsakh conflict, and also doing nothing to protect Yerevan from the Turko-Azeri alliance