Israel-UAE Deal Aimed at Building Anti-Iran Coalition in Region: Ex-CIA Officer
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A former military intelligence officer with the CIA said the intention of a recent normalization deal between Israel and the UAE, brokered by US President Donald Trump, is to “build an anti-Iran coalition around Israel and Saudi Arabia with the smaller Arab states”.
“It (Israel-UAE agreement) is a deal that is intended to benefit Trump as he needs a ‘victory’ in foreign policy for his re-election. Israel benefits by being able to point to another Arab ‘friend’ and the UAE now has Trump owing them a favor. The Palestinians are the big losers, and with a leader like Abbas, who is a creature dependent on Israel and the US, they will be going nowhere,” Philip Giraldi, a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a columnist and television commentator, told Tasnim.
“The UAE is indeed not a politically active Arab state and has long been dealing secretly with Israel. It would not be important except symbolically, which is what both Trump and Israel will be exploiting,” he added.
Noting that Bahrain and Oman would be next to fall, Girladi said, “The intention is to build an anti-Iran coalition around Israel and Saudi Arabia with the smaller Arab states riding along to make it look more respectable. The big question is, how aggressive will this arrangement become in given elections in the US and instability in Israel. Both would probably welcome an increase in tension to make their top politicians look like they are ‘wartime’ leaders”.
The Emirates is now the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to normalize with Israel. Abu Dhabi was already believed to have clandestine relations with Tel Aviv.