Iran's policies also played a part in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain in September 2020. Concerned about Iran’s hostile acts and rhetoric toward them, and about the U.S. leaving the region, both Bahrain and the UAE decided to normalize relations with Israel. Of course, other factors were involved in the two countries’ decision as well, but seeing Israel as an alternative to the U.S. as a regional bulwark against Iran was an important one. The recent Houthi missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks on the UAE have further cemented Israel’s relations with both the UAE and Bahrain. Attacking the UAE was a strategic decision by the Houthis, taken in response to the involvement of UAE proxy forces in Yemen’s ongoing war and, more importantly, to a string of losses suffered by the Houthis at the hands of the Giants Brigade, a UAE proxy force in Yemen.
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