U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed Tuesday that Israel recently sent the United Arab Emirates Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help protect the Gulf country during the war with Iran.

Huckabee made the comment at a conference at Tel Aviv University. It was the first public confirmation by a government official of the unprecedented assistance that Israel provided the UAE, which was the target of the highest number of Iranian missiles and drones during the war.

The decision to send the Iron Dome battery to another country for the first time was made following a conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Islamic Republic launched more than 550 missiles and over 2,200 drones at the UAE, according to the UAE Defense Ministry.

Huckabee said that the Israeli assistance was a result of the “extraordinary relationship” between the two countries formed by the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords.

He expressed “deep appreciation and admiration” for the Gulf country, noting that its carriers continued flying to Israel throughout the two-year war against Hamas triggered by the Oct.r 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel—with up to 17 daily flights—at a time when both American and European airlines stayed away.

He also cited the UAE’s education system, which includes Holocaust education, as a “gold standard” in the Arab world.

The U.S. ambassador said he was “very optimistic” that additional countries would join the Abraham Accords, which saw Israel make peace with four Arab nations, starting with the UAE.

Huckabee also talked about the current fragile ceasefire with the Islamic Republic.

“I’ve never had an illusion that Iran had somehow mellowed out or that they were moderated,” he said. “They really want to destroy everything that I and the American people stand for.”

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