Khamenei funeral becomes pointed statecraft for US-Israel allies

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the US think-tank behind Trump’s illegal war on Iran, has praised the United Arab Emirates for not attending Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei’s funeral over the weekend.

Khamenei was assassinated in late February at the start of Trump’s war of aggression on Iran. The attack on Khamenei also killed his 14-month-old granddaughter, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law.

The UAE like Israel is a model ally that fights to defend itself against American enemies. https://t.co/GbVg9Fwgfp

— Mark Dubowitz (@mdubowitz) July 5, 2026

Khamenei funeral as statecraft

Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of FDD, likened the UAE to Israel as a model ally for the USA for not attending the funeral.

According to Responsible Statecraft:

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a prominent dark money think tank, has been advising the U.S. to topple the Iranian regime for years. Founded with a goal to “enhance Israel’s image in North America,” FDD played a critical role in pushing Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

Mehran Haghirian, Director of Research and Programmes at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, posted on X that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, & Oman sent official delegations for the funeral. Meanwhile, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain refrained from doing so.

Iran began a mass funeral of Khamenei on Saturday 4 July, in a week-long ceremony that’s expected to draw millions of mourners. Up to 12 to 20 million people were expected to attend the ceremonies, which are part of what Iranian authorities have described as the “funeral of the century”.

No European country has been formally invited.

Israelification of the UAE

Emirati entrepreneur Omar Al Busaidy and other UAE influencers celebrated the Emirates Knights’ air show on the occasion of America’s 250th anniversary in New York. Busaidy reposted:

Thank you Emirates Knights for honoring and celebrating America’s 250 anniversary with your incredible air show! 🇺🇸🗽🇦🇪 https://t.co/oF7rGVrg2t

— US Mission to UAE (@USAinUAE) July 6, 2026

The FDD has previously welcomed the “Israelification” of the UAE.

In April, Dubowitz and FDD’s Max Meizlish celebrated the UAE’s departure from OPEC, describing it as the “Israelification” of the UAE and praising its alignment with American and Israeli partners.

The Israelification of the Gulf is the process of Gulf countries hardening their defenses — military and economic — and taking more active roles in combating Iranian aggression.

It is the result of Tehran targeting Gulf infrastructure and Gulf citizens. And also U.S. military… https://t.co/3kKNRNl0IU

— Max Meizlish (@maxmeizlish) April 30, 2026

UK military think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has said the UAE has emerged as Israel’s most operationally significant Arab partner. It said:

Israel–UAE security cooperation has developed steadily, building step by step over time since the 2020 Abraham Accords. The wider enabling context was Israel’s integration in January 2021 into US Central Command (CENTCOM) after being part of the US European Command (EUCOM). The impact of this shift was substantial and facilitated the operational infrastructure for closer intelligence and coordination between Israel and the Gulf states.

Like Israel, the UAE is known for crimes against humanity.

Recently, the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of crimes against humanity in Sudan. Amnesty, in a report titled “City Under Siege, Children Under Fire: Rapid Support Forces’ Crimes Against Humanity in North Darfur“, has documented how civilians in and around El Fasher were killed, injured, beaten, tortured and detained between early 2024 and October 2025.

The UK, of course, arms both.

Featured image via the Canary