UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies

Source: Politico

UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies

Other Arab countries are restricting operations as well, according to people familiar with the matter.

By LARA SELIGMAN, ALEXANDER WARD and NAHAL TOOSI
02/14/2024 02:37 PM EST

Some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are increasingly restricting the U.S. from using military facilities on their soil to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian proxies, according to four people familiar with the issue.

The U.S. has long deployed thousands of troops at facilities in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and elsewhere in the Middle East, and the Arab countries’ role in supporting U.S. military activities has come under intensified scrutiny since the Israel-Hamas war that erupted in October.

The conflict has pitted Arab governments’ interests in assuaging their citizens’ anger toward Israel against their desire to help Washington fend off Iranian-backed attacks. The restrictions on U.S. activities on their soil reflect Arab calculations on how supportive they can be — without angering Iran.

The news that some countries are restricting access is based on information from a U.S. official, a congressional aide and two Western officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive security issue.

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Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/14/united-arab-emirates-retaliatory-airstrikes-iran-00141460