Regional Powers Cannot Substitute U.S. For Gulf Defense Against Iran

BusinessAerospace & DefenseRegional Powers Cannot Substitute U.S. For Gulf Defense Against IranByPaul Iddon,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist focused on Middle East affairs.Follow AuthorMay 23, 2026, 03:16pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.An Egyptian French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jet deployed to the United Arab Emirates. (UAE Ministry of Defense photo)UAE Ministry of DefenseThe U.S.-Israel war against Iran, launched on February 28, saw Tehran take the unprecedented step of repeatedly targeting all six Arab Gulf monarchical member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council with ballistic missile and explosive drones. After the April 8 ceasefire halted hostilities, some in the Gulf states began questioning why larger regional powers like Egypt didn’t do more to help defend them against Iran. Iran and its regional militia proxies fired missiles and drones at the Gulf states throughout the war, with the United Arab Emirates enduring the brunt of these attacks. The UAE’s world-class air defense found itself under unprecedented strain, and the daily Iranian attacks undermined its carefully cultivated reputation for security and stability that Abu Dhabi strove to uphold for decades. The Emirates and other GCC states provided grants and investments worth tens of billions of dollars to Egypt to prop up its economy since 2013. The war consequently left some Gulf Arabs wondering aloud why Egypt, which has the largest army of any Arab country, didn’t do more to assist them militarily. In another unprecedented development of the war, Israel forward-deployed troops to operate Iron Dome anti-rocket and even the new Iron Beam laser defense system to help defend Emirati airspace from these constant attacks. Tareq al-Otaiba, a former official in the Emirati national security council, wrote a scathi...