- Israel found help from unlikely sources to counter an Iranian missile attack.
- Jordan shot down an Iranian missile and other Arab states may have provided information.
- Arab countries have complex motivations for apparently helping Israel.
Israel’s skies lit up Saturday night as its Iron Dome shot down hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran.
The assault was a retaliation for a deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the Syrian capital. This was the first time that Iran carried out attacks against Israel from Iranian territory.
Israel said it had shot down 99% of the drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles heading its way. In doing so, she received help from an unlikely source: her Arab neighbors.
Jordan, among the fiercest critics of Israel’s Gaza campaign, said it had intercepted projectiles fired by Iran that entered its airspace. It also appears to be opening its airspace to Israeli and American warplanes.
Former Jordanian Information Minister Samih al-Maaytah defended the decision on Sunday. “Jordan’s duty is to protect its lands and its citizens,” he said. “What Jordan did yesterday was simply protect its airspace.”
Jordan may have complex motivations for supporting Israel. As Deutsche Welle pointed out, it shares a border with Israel and often works with Israeli authorities.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have publicly called for peace in the region. But the Wall St Journal, citing US officials, said Gulf states were informed by Iran several days ago of the timing and nature of the attack it was planning, and that they had transmitted this information to the United States, Israel’s main international ally.
Parts of a missile launched from a missile land in the Marj Al-Hamam area, during Iranian airstrikes against Israel, in Amman, Jordan, April 14, 2024. Anadolu via Getty Images
“Arab countries have quietly passed on intelligence about Tehran’s attack plans, opened their airspace to warplanes, shared radar tracking information or, in some cases, provided their own forces to help,” the report reported. Journal, citing sources.
This could undermine Saudi attempts to improve relations with Iran. In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran restored relations with the help of China, agreeing to reopen their embassies in each other’s capitals.
This response highlights how opposition to Iranian aggression remains a key factor in evolving alliances in the region, despite growing anger over Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Saudi Arabia still wants to explore the possibility of diplomatic normalization with Israel. One reason, according to the Times, is that he hopes for a guarantee of American security in the event of an attack by Iran.
Yasmine Farouk, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the New York Times that many Arab states envied the success of Israel’s Iron Dome defenses, built in partnership with the United States.
“What Western countries under American leadership did yesterday to protect Israel is exactly what Saudi Arabia wants for itself,” Farouk said.
Opposition to Iranian aggression was one of the key factors behind the Abraham Accords, the deal to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab states brokered by the Trump administration.
The deal, agreed to by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, sets aside the issue of the creation of a Palestinian state that has long divided Israel and its neighbors, the promise of increased U.S. support for Arab countries against possible Iranian attacks being a powerful incentive.
The October 7 terrorist attacks, which killed around 1,200 Israelis, abruptly interrupted this process. Jordan and Saudi Arabia were among the leading voices condemning Israel’s campaign in Gaza in response to the attacks, where more than 30,000 people were killed.
However, there are reports that Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are willing to continue talks with Israel once the fighting in Gaza ceases.
There is, however, a risk for Arab states to be seen as helping Israel, Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, told Business Insider.
“There is now a lot of anger towards Jordan from many people in the broader Arab-Islamic world who see Amman serving Israel and the interests of the United States, more than six months after the campaign began. “Israel’s annihilation in Gaza, which Arab governments like Jordan have opposed only in rhetoric, not in concrete action,” he said.
Saudi Arabia appears keen to respond to anger over Gaza and is demanding that normalization with Israel include a realistic path to Palestinian statehood. The current Israeli government is unlikely to grant this request.
As the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates, Arab states face a difficult choice between their security priorities and public anger over Gaza.
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