A prominent Emirati political scientist is urging the UAE to rethink the role of American bases on its soil, saying they did little to defend the country during the recent war with Iran and may have made it a bigger target.
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political analyst with close ties to Emirati leadership, shared his views on X and later repeated them to international media. He said the presence of US troops gave Iran a justification to strike the Emirates.
هذا ما قلته لرويترز اليوم: لم تعد الامارات بحاجة لأمريكا كي تدافع عنها فقد اكدت خلال العدوان الإيراني انها قادرة الدفاع عن نفسها بجدارة، ما تحتاجه الإمارات هو اقتناء افضل وأحدث ما لدى امريكا من اسلحة فقط لذلك حان وقت التفكير في اغلاق القواعد الأمريكية فهي عبء وليس رصيد استراتيجي
— Abdulkhaleq Abdulla (@Abdulkhaleq_UAE) April 19, 2026
The UAE carried out most of its own defense using American weapons and missile systems. American soldiers, he argued, added little to that effort.
“It’s time to rethink American bases in the UAE,” says Abdulkhaleq Abdulla
The war began Feb. 28 following Israeli and American strikes on Iran. Tehran responded with sustained attacks on Gulf states. The UAE absorbed some of the heaviest blows, with Iranian forces firing 1,872 drones, 398 ballistic missiles, and 15 cruise missiles at the country through late March.
Most were intercepted, but falling debris caused damage at the Fujairah oil zone, Palm Jumeirah, the Burj Al Arab, and Dubai International Airport.
Washington currently operates at least 19 military installations across the Middle East, eight of them designated as permanent. Roughly 40,000 American troops were stationed in the region before the war started.
Emirati political scientist calls for US bases to be closed while still seeking Washington’s most advanced weapons
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Emirati political scientist and commentator Abdulkhaleq Abdulla has called for the closure of US military bases in the UAE, while stressing the country should… pic.twitter.com/goswpF2262— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) April 20, 2026
The UAE hosts about 3,500 of them, along with Al-Dhafra Air Base, a facility shared among American, French, and Emirati forces.
UAE analysts split on whether to rethink American bases
The debate over those bases has divided commentators. Nadim Koteich, a UAE-based media figure and former head of Sky News Arabia, called Washington a dependable ally across every area that counts.
He argued that viewing the relationship purely through a security lens underestimates how far the partnership has developed, covering technology, industry, finance, energy, and defense. He said the Abu Dhabi-Washington relationship should be deepened, not questioned.
Anna Jacobs, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, said the exchange reflects real frustration within Emirati leadership. The UAE was not consulted before the war and was again left out of talks on how it would end. Gulf states had privately opposed the war, and when it went ahead anyway, they pushed for it to be finished completely. It was ended abruptly instead.
Abdulla clarified he was not calling for an immediate withdrawal. Any decision on American bases should be gradual and agreed upon by both sides. His concern, he said, was whether those bases still serve the UAE national defense. The broader relationship with Washington, he added, is expected to keep growing.
The economic toll has been severe. Stock values on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi exchanges declined by more than 120 billion dollars. Property values in Dubai fell at least 16 percent between the start of the war and the end of March. More than 18,400 scheduled flights were grounded during the same period.
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