VIGIL CONSILIUMSearch
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Conflict coverage · Iran–Gulf

State actor

Israel and the Gulf

Israel holds two positions in this system simultaneously, and the war has strengthened both. It is a co-belligerent: the Congressional Research Service records Israel as having killed Iran's Supreme Leader on 28 February 2026 along with dozens of other senior Iranian figures. It is also, since the Abraham Accords and more so during this war, a defence partner of the United Arab Emirates — reported as deploying air-defence systems and personnel to Emirati territory for the first time. A relationship that might have been expected to break under a regional war has instead deepened, and that is one of the more consequential structural changes the war has produced.

External powersCo-belligerent · Gulf defence partnerState of Israel

Last reviewed
2026-09-04

AssessmentModerate confidence

Figures carry their own uncertainty. Population, economic and military-spending data in wartime are estimates, often contested; every figure below shows its as-of date and a confidence grade, and leadership positions reflect the last review date and change without notice.

Co-belligerent alongside the United States from 28 February 2026
Role in the campaign
EST · AS OF 2026-09 · Confidence: High
Reported deployment of Israeli air-defence systems and personnel to the UAE — described as a first
Gulf defence cooperation
EST · AS OF 2026 · Confidence: Moderate
Normalised relations with the UAE and Bahrain under the 2020 Abraham Accords
Diplomatic relations in the Gulf
EST · AS OF 2020 · Confidence: High

Two roles, one record

Vigil does not resolve the tension between Israel's position as a belligerent against Iran and its position as a Gulf security partner, because the tension is real and is part of what the module explains. Both are recorded on this one contextual actor rather than split into a convenient pair.

Attribution recorded precisely

Earlier Vigil drafting attributed the killing of Ali Khamenei jointly to the United States and Israel. The Congressional Research Service attributes it to Israel, and the module carries the narrower and better-sourced attribution. The event chronology itself is authored in P4.

What this module does not cover

Israel's own force structure, its conflicts outside this system, and its relationships in the Levant are not this module's subject and are not authored here. This record covers Israel only as an actor in the Iran–Gulf system.

Elsewhere in Iran–Gulf

Economic profileAll Iran–Gulf profiles
Confidence: ModerateThe belligerent role is primary-sourced. The extent and permanence of defence cooperation with the UAE rest on media and think-tank reporting rather than on published agreements.Sources: Congressional Research Service — Iran, the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz · Established historical record · Established international media reportingMethodologyCorrectionsOpen in Explore

Last reviewed2026-09-04

Related structure

5 records that Israel and the Gulf names, or that name it. Every one is an explicit reference in a published record — nothing here is inferred from subject matter.

Relationships

Standing relationships whose record names this actor as a party, with the type, status and validity the record states.

Forces and formations

Organisations this actor commands or sponsors, as named on its own record.

  • Israel Defense ForcesIsrael's unified military — a single force with no separate national guard or revolutionary parallel, and the organisation that opened both the June 2025 war and the war that began in February 2026.

Named in these events

Dated events whose record names this actor.