DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The United States called Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates “great security partners” early on Saturday, an unprecedented designation for the two countries that host major American military operations.
A White House statement linked the designation to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, normalizing ties with Israel, saying it “reflects its extraordinary courage, determination and leadership”. He also noted that the two countries have long participated in US military exercises.
It is unclear what the designation means for Bahrain, an island kingdom off Saudi Arabia, in the Persian Gulf, and for the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikdoms that houses Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet, while the UAE’s Jebel Ali port is the busiest port of call for American warships outside the USA.
The United States already uses the designation of “great non-NATO ally” to describe its relationship with Kuwait, which hosts the advanced command of the US Central Army. This designation gives a country special financial and military considerations for non-NATO nations. Bahrain is also a non-NATO ally.
The Central Command of the US Armed Forces and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 5th Fleet forwarded the doubts to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House designation comes in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump forged close ties with the Arab Gulf countries during his time in office, partly because of his hard-line position on Iran. This spawned a series of growing incidents between countries after Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal of Iran with world powers.
It also occurs after Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates joined Egypt and Saudi Arabia to begin resolving a yearlong boycott of Qatar, another Arab Gulf nation that houses the Al-Udeid Air Base that houses the advanced operational base Central Command. This boycott began in the early days of Trump’s term, after he visited Saudi Arabia on his first trip abroad.
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