{"id":945,"date":"2026-05-22T05:45:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/05\/22\/cold-pragmatic-relationship-uae-israel-ties-driven-by-defence-and-technology\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T05:45:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:45:55","slug":"cold-pragmatic-relationship-uae-israel-ties-driven-by-defence-and-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=945","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cold, pragmatic relationship\u2019: UAE-Israel ties driven by defence and technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"t-content t-content--edition\" id=\"main-content\">\n<div class=\"t-content__with-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"t-content__beside-sidebar\" data-article-content>\n<h1 class=\"t-content__title a-page-title\">\u2018Cold, pragmatic relationship\u2019: UAE-Israel ties driven by defence and technology<\/h1>\n<div class=\"m-master-tag\">\n<div class=\"a-tag-section\">\n                                    Middle East\n                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-video-player o-video-player--16x9 t-content__main-media\" data-media-video-7a6f11b8-8c33-41c6-9bfe-310fc29ebe69 data-show-hidden-video-player=\"7A6F11B8-8C33-41C6-9BFE-310FC29EBE69\" data-wrapper-video-player data-autoplay-video-link data-youtube-script>\n<div class=\"o-em-consent \">\n<div class=\"o-em-consent__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-consent__content__text\">To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.<\/p>\n<p>        <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"accept\"><br \/>\n            Accept<\/p>\n<p>        <\/button><br \/>\n        <button class=\"a-link\" data-action=\"manage\">Manage my choices<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock\" data-adblock-content>\n<div class=\"o-em-adblock__content\">\n<p class=\"o-em-adblock__content__text\">One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.<\/p>\n<p>            <button class=\"a-master-button a-master-button--dark\" data-action=\"reload\">Try again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-hidden-video-player=\"7A6F11B8-8C33-41C6-9BFE-310FC29EBE69\"><\/div>\n<figure class=\"m-item-image m-item-image--16x9 m-item-image--has-caption\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"auto\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/e8a47408-559e-11f1-9813-005056a97e36\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/capture-4830012086a0fe939bad7a7-11461778.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/e8a47408-559e-11f1-9813-005056a97e36\/w:388\/p:16x9\/capture-4830012086a0fe939bad7a7-11461778.jpg 388w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/e8a47408-559e-11f1-9813-005056a97e36\/w:720\/p:16x9\/capture-4830012086a0fe939bad7a7-11461778.jpg 720w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/e8a47408-559e-11f1-9813-005056a97e36\/w:1024\/p:16x9\/capture-4830012086a0fe939bad7a7-11461778.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1076px) 100vw, 1012px\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" alt=\"MIDDLE EAST MATTERS\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img \"><figcaption class=\"a-figcaption\">\n                <span>MIDDLE EAST MATTERS<\/span>                <span>\u00a9 France 24<\/span>            <\/figcaption><div class=\"m-item-image__overlay-wrapper\">\n                <button class=\"m-main-media-btn\" aria-label=\"\u2018Cold, pragmatic relationship\u2019: UAE-Israel ties driven by defence and technology: Play the video\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"m-main-media-btn__picto\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-circle-loader\">\n<\/div>\n<p><\/button><br \/>\n<time class=\"a-media-time\">14:03<\/time>                <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__metadata\">\n<div class=\"t-content__dates\">\n<p class=\"m-pub-dates\"><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Issued on: <time datetime=\"2026-05-22T05:34:51+00:00\">22\/05\/2026 &#8211; 07:34<\/time><\/span><span class=\"m-pub-dates__date\">Modified: <time datetime=\"2026-05-22T05:44:53+00:00\">22\/05\/2026 &#8211; 07:44<\/time><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__video-duration\">\n<p>                            14:03 min\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"a-share-button\" data-root-share>\n<p>                            <span class=\"a-master-button__label\">Share<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__page-cta\">\n<div class=\"a-audio-player-btn a-audio-player-btn--skeleton a-audio-player-btn--cta\" data-root-audio-player-button data-short-lived-vue-app data-site-nav-close>\n<p>                <span class=\"a-audio-player-btn__label\">Play (14:03 min) <\/span><\/p>\n<p>                                            <span class=\"a-svg a-svg--icon-audio\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-circle-loader\">\n<\/div>\n<p>                <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/tv-shows\/middle-east-matters\/\" class=\"t-content__program m-program\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-program__label\">From the show<\/div>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8a38b410-0f33-11ee-93bc-005056a90321\/EN-middle-east-matters.svg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/8a38b410-0f33-11ee-93bc-005056a90321\/EN-middle-east-matters.svg\" alt=\"Middle East Matters\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"a-img  a-img--svg\"><\/p>\n<p>                    <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"t-content__reading-time a-reading-time\">\n<p>                        <span class=\"t-content__reading-time__label\">Reading time<\/span><br \/>\n                        1 min<\/div>\n<p class=\"t-content__chapo\">\n                                                Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome\u00a0Dr Andreas Krieg, Senior Lecturer School of Security Studies at King\u2019s College London and Fellow at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies.\u00a0According to Dr. Krieg,\u00a0\u201cIran is fighting a war against the global economy.\u201d\u00a0By targeting the UAE, and especially Dubai, Tehran is not merely retaliating militarily but seeking to exploit what Krieg calls the \u201cAchilles heel\u201d of the international system: the Gulf\u2019s hyperconnected financial and logistical infrastructure. The UAE, he argues, is \u201cthe most connected Middle Eastern country in terms of finances, trade, commodities, goods, people, as well as data,\u201d making it both indispensable and dangerously exposed.                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"t-content__body u-clearfix\">\n<p>He dismantles the assumption of a grand &#8220;&#8216;strategic realignment&#8221; between UAE and <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israel<\/a>, insisting instead that the relationship remains \u201cvery cold, very pragmatic,\u201d driven less by ideological convergence than by &#8220;operational&#8221; interests in technology, intelligence, and security. He describes <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israel<\/a> as\u00a0\u201cthe arsonist who then appeared as a firefighter\u201d: <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/israel\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Israel<\/a> may offer tactical support, but the conflict itself has profoundly destabilized Emirati interests.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Krieg points to growing tensions between <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/abu-dhabi\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Abu Dhabi<\/a> and the northern emirates, particularly <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/dubai\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Dubai<\/a>, whose service economy and merchant networks remain deeply dependent on regional stability and historic ties with <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/tag\/iran\/\" class=\"gtm-add-suggested-tag\">Iran<\/a>. His reminder that \u201cthey are prisoners of geography\u201d underscores the central thesis of the conversation: despite narratives of autonomy, Gulf geopolitics ultimately remain constrained by proximity, interdependence, and the impossibility of escaping the regional security order.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"t-content__authors t-content__authors--multiple\">\n<div class=\"m-from-author\">\n                    <span class=\"m-from-author__by-label\"><br \/>\n                By:<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-author m-author--small m-author--has-image\">\n<div class=\"m-author__image\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:388\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:177\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png 177w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:388\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png 388w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100px, 170px\" width=\"388\" height=\"388\" alt=\"Nadia Massih\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"a-img \"><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"m-author__name\">\n                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/nadia-massih-1\/\" title=\"Nadia MASSIH\" class=\"m-author__name__title\"><br \/>\n                                Nadia MASSIH<br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"m-from-author\">\n                    <span class=\"m-from-author__by-label\"><br \/>\n                Video by:<br \/>\n            <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"m-author m-author--small m-author--has-image\">\n<div class=\"m-author__image\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:388\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:177\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png 177w,https:\/\/s.france24.com\/media\/display\/2d582cba-4312-11f1-8d5c-005056bfb2b6\/w:388\/p:1x1\/avatar-Nadia-Massih.png 388w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100px, 170px\" width=\"388\" height=\"388\" alt=\"Nadia Massih\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"a-img \"><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"m-author__name\">\n                                                    <a href=\"\/en\/nadia-massih-1\/\" title=\"Nadia MASSIH\" class=\"m-author__name__title\"><br \/>\n                                Nadia MASSIH<br \/>\n                            <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"o-sidebar__aside\">\n<div data-tms-ad-status=\"idle\" data-tms-ad-container 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