UAE Secretly Carried Out Attacks On Iran, Making It An Active Combatant

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become an active combatant in the Iran war, according to fresh reporting in The Wall Street Journal.

Last week saw the US-Iran ceasefire briefly break down, during which time the US struck some Iranian coastal sites and the Iranians sent drones and missiles on several Gulf states once again. Iran also reportedly tried to attack three American warships carrying out Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ operations.

But even before this, during the intense missile exchanges of early April (before the ceasefire), the UAE also ‘secretly’ attacked Iran: “The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter said, casting the Gulf monarchy as an active combatant in a war in which it has been Iran’s biggest target,” WSJ writes.

As for whether the UAE was active in hitting Iran last week, this remains unknown. There’s much that may yet be revealed in the future, amid the current fog of war.

At this moment, however, the UAE has yet to publicly disclose these prior alleged offensive attacks on the Islamic Republic. But WSJ reports:

The strikes, which the U.A.E. hasn’t publicly acknowledged, have included an attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, the people familiar with the matter said. That attack took place in early April around the time President Trump was announcing a cease-fire in the war after a five-week air campaign and sparked a large fire and knocked much of its capacity off line for months.

Disclosures of sites that came under attack from the Iranian side are consistent with this reporting, however. “Iran said at the time that the refinery had been struck in an enemy attack and launched a barrage of missile and drone strikes against the U.A.E. and Kuwait in response,” continues WSJ.

The publication further says Washington issued no objection upon the UAE’s getting directly involved. In fact, US officials have been calling on regional allies to step up to the fight, so the United States is not shouldering the burden alone.

By and large the Gulf allies relied solely on the US and Israel to pummel Iran during the prior 38 days of heavy bombing which marked the peak of Operation Epic Fury.

This as the Gulf absorbed the bulk of Iran’s retaliation. Iran sent hundreds if not thousands of ballistic missiles and drones on Gulf energy, infrastructure, and even central areas of cities.

Prior online open-source murmurings turning out true…

BREAKING: Iranian military sources claim UAE Mirage-2000‑9 jets were involved in an attack on the Lavan Island refinery today.

Reports say the U.S. informed Iran that the strikes were not linked to the U.S. or Israel. pic.twitter.com/8gnfYjt5kq

— War Radar (@War_Radar2) April 8, 2026

Iranian officials declared they were primarily targeting US assets and military bases, and further vowed to ‘punish’ these countries for ever hosting American bases in the first place.

The UAE in effect joining the US military campaign marks yet another escalation. If the Saudis join too then the potential for further runaway escalation only grows. The ceasefire meanwhile seems effectively dead at this stage.