Israel and the United Arab Emirates have significantly expanded their security coordination during Operation Roaring Lion, with Mossad chief David Barnea making at least two visits to the UAE in March and April to align strategies regarding the regional conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deepening partnership demonstrates how Abraham Accords nations are leveraging private security cooperation to counter Iranian aggression while Turkey's domestic peace process faces new complications.
According to KAN News, Shin Bet chief David Zini also visited the UAE, with the two countries coordinating on security issues throughout the war. The visits came as the UAE reportedly conducted covert strikes against Iranian assets, including attacks on Lavan Island's refinery at the beginning of April, according to the Wall Street Journal citing sources informed on the matter. The strikes were characterized as responses to Iran targeting Emirati civilian and energy infrastructures. Iran subsequently launched another barrage of drones and missiles against both the UAE and Kuwait in retaliation.
Abraham Accords Security Benefits
United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee publicly confirmed the extent of Israeli-Emirati cooperation during a Thursday Tel Aviv University conference, revealing that Israel sent Iron Dome batteries to the United Arab Emirates to defend against Iranian attacks. "Can I say a word of appreciation for the United Arab Emirates... they were the first Abraham Accords member," Huckabee said. He added, "Look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them. How come? Because there's an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel."
The security cooperation extends beyond the UAE. Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, marking the first time the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil. The attacks, launched by the Saudi Air Force, were assessed to have been carried out in late March, according to two Western officials. One official characterized them as "tit-for-tat strikes in retaliation for when Saudi [Arabia] was hit." Reuters was unable to confirm the specific targets. A senior Saudi foreign ministry official did not directly address whether strikes had been carried out when asked for comment.
Turkey's Kurdish Peace Process Stalls
Meanwhile, Turkey's peace process with Kurdish militants has stalled as the Iran war deepened regional instability. Just two weeks after Turkey's parliament made recommendations on advancing the country's peace process with Kurdish militants, the Iran war broke out, bringing new doubts on both sides. Turkey has warned of the risk of new Kurdish mobilizations in Iran and Iraq and, according to a government official, played a key role in quashing a short-lived US-Israeli idea to back a Kurdish militant ground invasion of Iran from Iraq.
Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party have dug in to watch the fallout of the war, each refusing to move next and stalling efforts to end the four-decade conflict, according to interviews with Turkish officials, lawmakers, and representatives of the northern Iraq-based PKK. Both President Tayyip Erdogan's government and the militant group are unwilling to take bold steps, especially with the region destabilized, the interviews show.
The government appears reluctant to enact legislative reforms, including a potential amnesty for former PKK fighters, and to give the group's jailed leader an official role in the peace process. Ankara says the PKK must fully disarm first. The PKK, which announced its dissolution last year, says doing so would leave it exposed, so legislation must come first.
Senior PKK officer Murat Karayilan was quoted as telling the PKK-linked Firat News Agency that it would be "irrational" to lay down arms without Turkish legal guarantees at a time that war "drones and missiles are flying overhead." Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, a senior lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, said, "It is unequivocal that there is a pause, but not a complete halt." She characterized the government's demand for full disarmament now as "unrealistic," adding, "I believe that they are, to some extent, waiting for developments in Iran and the broader Middle East."
Domestic Political Pressures
Failure to achieve peace would prolong one of the world's longest-running conflicts, which has killed more than 40,000 people since 1984 and spilled into Syria. In late April, pro-government newspaper Turkiye Gazetesi reported that Turkey's spy chief made a presentation to ruling AKP party members showing that the PKK had taken no further disarmament steps beyond a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony last summer, delaying the peace process.
Asked about delays, Zagros Hiwa, PKK political wing spokesperson, told Reuters that Turkey had "unilaterally frozen" the peace process in part to boost the ruling party's political prospects. A Turkish presidency spokesperson referred to Erdogan's recent speeches on the matter, in which he repeated that the peace process is disconnected from domestic politics and has good momentum as it reaches a key crossroads, and dismissed "pessimists." Erdogan says the peace process will carry on.
Some opinion polls show Turks, including ethnic minority Kurds, are growing less convinced that peace will ultimately be achieved. A Konda Barometer survey about five months ago found 79% of respondents believe the state was wrong to engage with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, including 62% of Erdogan's ruling AKP party voters. Erdogan's nationalist ally, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, said last week Ocalan should be granted an official role to get things back on track. The government has yet to respond.
Why This Matters:
The expanding security cooperation between Israel and Gulf states demonstrates how Abraham Accords partnerships are evolving from diplomatic frameworks into operational military alliances capable of responding to Iranian aggression. The willingness of UAE and Saudi Arabia to conduct strikes on Iranian territory represents a significant shift in Gulf states' approach to regional security, moving from reliance on American protection toward independent military action. Meanwhile, Turkey's stalled Kurdish peace process highlights how regional instability can freeze domestic reform efforts, potentially prolonging a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984. The impasse between Ankara's demand for disarmament and the PKK's insistence on legal guarantees first reflects the broader challenge of achieving stability when external conflicts create uncertainty. Domestic polling showing 79% of Turks oppose engaging with PKK leadership suggests the peace process faces significant political headwinds, even as Erdogan's nationalist allies push for progress.