Why the United Arab Emirates is a target for Iran’s aggression

At least 11 countries have come under attack from Iran in retaliation for ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes, but no country, other than Israel, has been hit harder than the Emirates.

The UAE says it has intercepted over 90% of incoming missile and drone threats from Iran. As of March 12, the 13th day of the war, official tallies from the UAE’s Ministry of Defense show air defenses intercepted 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,514 drones, with six fatalities and 131 injuries reported.

The amount of firepower being sent to the Emirates is significantly higher than that of its Gulf neighbors and almost as much as Israel, which has faced more than 1,000 missiles and drones in the last two weeks from Iran. Strikes on neighboring Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain all remain in the hundreds.

Despite the interceptions, Iran’s strikes have significantly impacted life across the Emirates. Residents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi frequently hear loud explosions overhead due to daily interceptions, and missile alarms ring out on phones at all hours.

Airports in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, residential buildings, hotels in both Emirates, Dubai’s International Financial Center, Jebel Ali Port and the U.S. consulate in Dubai have all been targeted, despite the Iranian government telling CNBC its attacks on Gulf neighbors are limited to U.S. bases in the region.

For Iran, the UAE is a prime location where strikes can simultaneously pressure Washington, disrupt global energy flows, unsettle international finance and corporates, and generate worldwide attention.

Iran can inflict maximum regional and global pain, testing a state that has positioned itself as the Gulf’s safest bridge between East and West, and the future of the region for finance, logistics, aviation and technology.

The UAE was one of the first places U.S. President Donald Trump visited in his second term last May during a trip to the Gulf states.

The U.S. had already designated the country as a major defense partner in 2024, deepening coordination on not only defense but also artificial intelligence technology and investment. The partnership leaves little doubt about where the UAE stands when it comes to regional security.

On March 7, the Al Dhafra Air Base was targeted by Iranian drone and missile strikes.

The base, located around 32 km (20 miles) south of the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, hosts America’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing alongside French forces. It serves as a key regional hub for air operations and intelligence gathering, and is home to some 3,500 U.S. troops.

“There is no good answer as (to) why the UAE had been targeted more heavily than any other country in the neighborhood,” Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati academic and political scientist, told CNBC on Sunday.

The real story, he added, is “how well the UAE managed to defend itself against these daily missiles and drones going into its third week, it seems the country has been preparing itself for this kind of attack all along.”

The Iranian regime claimed they were targeting only U.S. bases in the region, before they began hitting civilian infrastructure and U.S. financial institutions in the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has demanded the closure of U.S. bases in the Gulf. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has also said these bases must be closed or they will be “attacked.”

The UAE has long prided itself on being a nation of tolerance.

While many locals are deeply religious, they welcome foreigners with open arms. About 90% of the country’s nearly 11 million residents are expats.

The UAE’s reputation of being open, affluent, and socially flexible by regional standards is more progressive than many of its neighbors, including Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where alcohol is banned and women’s clothing is still a subject of great concern.

“This is the global business hub, it’s a reflection of what life should be, and what success should be, what prosperity should be, what positivity should be, it’s this place,” Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Dubai when asked why the UAE has been such a target for Iranian strikes.

Despite government efforts to maintain a sense of “business as usual,” several major international banks pulled employees from their Dubai offices this week, as Iran said it would target economic centers and U.S.-linked financial institutions across the Middle East.

Two consecutive strikes from Iran last week targeted Dubai’s International Financial Center. Dubai’s media office confirmed the incidents but said no injuries had occurred.

Banks and American firms based in the financial center allowed their staff to work from home at the beginning of the war, but many have ordered it following last week’s attacks. Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are home to tech giants’ regional hubs, and many are specifically named by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as targets, including Alphabet’s Google, Oracle and IBM.

The UAE is also hoping to position itself as a major hub for AI as the region looks to diversify its economy away from oil. Questions have been raised about the attractiveness of the region as a location for Big Tech investments after Iran targeted an Amazon data center in the country, disrupting cloud services.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s Ruwais refinery, the largest in the Middle East, was shut as a precaution after a drone strike caused a fire, while operators in Fujairah temporarily suspended some terminal activity amid hostilities.

Iran is hoping to sow chaos over regional supply chains and with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupt energy exports from major producers in the Gulf.

The targeting of energy infrastructure isn’t new. Abu Dhabi was targeted by the Houthis in 2019, but this direct hit to Ruwais shows the Islamic Republic’s diversion from hitting targets linked solely to the U.S.