India and Israel's Silent Game in the Gulf

The Persian Gulf — long seen as the world’s energy artery — is no longer just about oil tankers, trade routes, and naval chokepoints. In the digital age, it has quietly become the theatre of a new kind of warfare: one fought not with fighter jets or boots on the ground, but with spyware, cyberattacks, and intelligence operatives in suits.

And behind this invisible front line are two increasingly intertwined players: India and Israel.
Iran: Target Number One

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has been viewed by many regional and global powers as a destabilizing force. Its Revolutionary Guards, influence over proxy groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, and resistance to Western-backed order have made it the focal point of espionage activity.

Iranian scientists have been assassinated. Nuclear facilities have been hacked. Its intelligence services have reported repeated infiltration. For Tehran, this isn’t random sabotage — it’s a well-orchestrated campaign of containment.

And leading that campaign is Israel’s feared intelligence agency, Mossad.
Israel’s Deep Penetration

Over the last two decades, Mossad has pulled off some of the boldest operations on Iranian soil. In 2020, top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated near Tehran — reportedly by a remote-controlled weapon. Before that, the infamous Stuxnet cyberattack — jointly attributed to Israel and the U.S. — disrupted centrifuges at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility.

Dozens of Iranian officials have since been arrested, accused of feeding sensitive information to Israeli handlers. Iran's sovereignty, it seems, is under high-tech siege.
India in the Gulf: A Quiet Operator

India, often seen as a neutral power juggling ties with both Tehran and the Gulf monarchies, is quietly emerging as a major player in this regional intelligence matrix — not least due to its close and growing security partnership with Israel.

Since 2017, India and Israel have signed a series of cybersecurity and defense cooperation agreements. India’s RAW operatives receive Israeli training and technology, and reports suggest that India has leveraged Israeli spyware — most infamously Pegasus — not only for domestic surveillance but also in collaboration with Gulf regimes.

And there's a demographic dimension to this too. With over 8.5 million Indian nationals living across Gulf countries, India has access to a massive, embedded diaspora — some of whom are allegedly involved in passive data gathering or surveillance operations, often unknowingly.
Gulf States: Allies or Enablers?

The Abraham Accords (2020) opened the door for formal Israeli integration into Gulf security systems. Today, Israeli advisors, tech firms, and surveillance infrastructure are quietly becoming part of defense architecture in countries like the UAE and Bahrain.

India, already a major economic and defense partner of these same states, appears to be synchronizing its efforts with Israel — forming what analysts are beginning to call a "shadow alliance" against Iranian influence.
Tehran’s Alarm Bells

Iran has been vocally critical of this growing India-Israel-Gulf nexus. Officials in Tehran accuse Israel of engineering cyberattacks and targeted killings, criticize Gulf monarchies for "hosting the enemy," and have even detained Indian nationals under suspicion of espionage linked to Israeli interests.

For Iran, this isn't just a security threat — it's an ideological and geopolitical challenge to its regional identity and ambitions.
The Real Question

So what are we witnessing? A pragmatic security coalition? Or a slow erosion of sovereignty in exchange for political stability?

Have Gulf rulers, in trying to counter Iran, handed their digital borders over to foreign powers?

Or has Iran's own posturing left its neighbors with little choice but to lean on external intelligence partners?

Whatever the answer, one thing is certain: the Gulf is no longer just an oil zone — it’s an active front in a silent war.
And in this war, the wounds may take years to show, but the damage is already underway.