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By Steve Mollman and Gabe Whisnant
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Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates quietly carried out military strikes on Iran during the regional war, according to officials and a Wall Street Journal report, marking a significant escalation that brought Gulf Arab states directly into combat with Tehran.
The previously undisclosed actions suggest a more assertive stance by U.S.-aligned Gulf powers and highlight how the conflict has expanded beyond its publicly acknowledged participants.
The reporting comes as President Donald Trump warned Monday that the ceasefire with Iran is “on life support,” raising fears that the 10‑week‑old conflict could intensify after a brief, fragile pause.
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Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon, the White House, and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
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Why It Matters
The war has already disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. Renewed fighting, especially if UAE and Saudi Arabia involvement becomes public, could further paralyze energy flows and raise economic pressure on the United States and its allies.
Trump’s dismissal of Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal over the weekend adds to the uncertainty, signaling that diplomatic efforts may be losing ground.
What to Know
According to the Journal, the UAE carried out a series of military strikes against Iran that it has not publicly acknowledged, including an early April attack on a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf. The strike sparked a major fire and knocked much of the facility’s capacity offline for months, people familiar with the matter told the publication.
Iran described the blast at the time as an enemy attack and responded with a barrage of missile and drone strikes against the UAE and Kuwait. Iranian forces have targeted the Emirates heavily during the war, launching more than 2,800 missiles and drones at UAE territory, according to the Journal—more than at any other country.
The attacks disrupted air traffic, tourism, and real estate in the Emirates and triggered layoffs, prompting what Gulf officials describe as a fundamental shift in Abu Dhabi’s strategic outlook. The UAE now views Iran as a rogue actor threatening its economic model and internal stability.
The U.S. was not opposed and has quietly welcomed the UAE’s participation, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Journal. Pentagon and White House officials declined to comment to the paper directly on the strikes.
Meanwhile, the strikes carried out by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have taken place in late March, two Western officials told Reuters, with one describing them as “tit-for-tat” retaliation after the kingdom came under attack.
Reuters could not independently verify the targets, and a senior Saudi foreign ministry official did not directly confirm whether the operations occurred when asked for comment.
Saudi Arabia, which has long relied on a close military partnership with the United States, has been increasingly exposed during the 10-week conflict as attacks breached defenses traditionally backed by U.S. support.
Trump, meanwhile, said Monday the ceasefire was “on life support” after rejecting Iran’s response to a U.S. proposal aimed at restarting negotiations. Tehran’s reply called for compensation for war damage, an end to sanctions, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, a guarantee of no further attacks, and the lifting of a U.S. naval blockade on Iran's ports.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: "I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called 'Representatives.' I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!"
On Monday in the White House, he called Iran's reply a "piece of garbage" that he "didn't even finish reading." While Iran, he added, had earlier said that it would allow the U.S. to come in and help extract its highly enriched uranium, in its latest proposal it went back on that. "They changed their mind because they didn’t put it in the paper," he said.
In an earlier post on Sunday, Trump wrote: "For 47 years the Iranians have been 'tapping' us along, keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs, destroying protests, and recently wiping out 42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors, and laughing at our now GREAT AGAIN Country. They will be laughing no longer!"
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What Happens Next
Diplomatic pressure is expected to intensify in the coming days as Washington weighs whether to continue pursuing negotiations or prepare for a prolonged conflict involving additional regional actors.
Gulf states are also likely to reassess their roles, with analysts warning that Iran may attempt to deepen divisions among Arab monarchies even as fighting threatens to spill further across the region.
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