Orientul Mijlociu

The four missile and drone attacks against the UAE in the space of less than three weeks are a cruel reminder of the fragility of peace moves in West Asia. Responsibility for the first three attacks that took place on 17, 24, and 31 January was claimed by the Houthis as retaliation for the UAE’s support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. The Houthis have close ties with Iran, and it would be fair to assume that the missiles and drones used in these attacks are of Iranian origin, with Hizbollah technicians from Lebanon reportedly providing on-ground support. The fourth attack, an attempt by three armed drones to strike unknown targets in the UAE on 2 February 2022 has been attributed to a relatively unknown Iraqi Shia group with presumed ties to Iran. The missile attacks on 17 January and 31 January and the drone attack on 2 February were thwarted, while the drone attack on 24 January caused limited damage but resulted in the death of two Indian and one Pakistani national in Abu Dhabi.

Iran has normalized the drone threat in the region.

A drone attack was intercepted as it targeted US-led coalition forces in northern Iraq, according to reports over the weekend. According to reports in Iraq the drones were targeting the Harir base.

Meanwhile, France 24 reported that “the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen destroyed a communications system on Monday used for drone attacks and located near the telecoms ministry in Sanaa, it said in a statement.” Last October, reports online predicted that Iran might attack the Harir base in Iraq.

N12 reported that 12 terror plots against Israelis in Turkey were foiled in the past two years.

More than a dozen plots against Israelis were foiled in the last two years, Channel 12 reported over the weekend. Further, I24 News reported: “According to the unsourced report, the majority of the plots were linked to the Islamic State jihadist group and targeted Israeli businesspeople on trips to Istanbul.”

Jerusalem is well aware that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a long list of own interests behind his rapprochement campaign.

Israeli diplomats are dubious but pleased at the burgeoning romance between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Erdogan is not very popular in Israel, to put it mildly, while Herzog in his first seven months in office is shaping up as an active, influential, moderating and popular figure, venturing out of the confines of his largely ceremonial post. “With Erdogan, it’s all about interests,” a top Israeli diplomatic source in Jerusalem told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. “With Herzog, it’s his nature. He is like that, a kind of new [late President Shimon] Peres, an inveterate optimist who will always turn risk into opportunity, an enemy into a friend. He simply wants to be influential.”

The Turkish president seeks to bolster Turkey’s ties to the Arab world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Monday in a fence-mending visit that is part of Ankara’s broader strategy of ending its regional isolation and drawing Gulf funding to its battered economy.

Intelligence agencies and private analysts say there is little doubt Islamic State senior leaders already have a good idea of who will be next to lead the terror group as it seeks to reestablish a physical caliphate and strike at the West.

The Yemen conflict is spilling further out of the war-torn country, posing a growing threat to U.S. military personnel and citizens in the Gulf region.

The United States is sending additional forces and equipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following four Houthi missile and drone attacks on the country in January.