‘Cold and pragmatic relationship’: UAE-Israel ties focused on defense and technology

Nadia Massih is pleased to welcome Dr Andreas Krieg, Senior Lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London and Fellow of the Institute of Middle East Studies. According to Dr. Krieg, “Iran is waging a war on the global economy.” By targeting the United Arab Emirates, and in particular Dubai, Tehran is not only retaliating militarily, but seeking to exploit what Krieg calls the “Achilles heel” of the international system: the hyperconnected financial and logistical infrastructure of the Gulf. The UAE, he claims, is “the most connected country in the Middle East in terms of finance, trade, raw materials, goods, people and data,” making it both indispensable and dangerously exposed.