As discreet as he is ambitious, Mohammed Ben Zayed - known as MBZ - is the new strongman of the Persian Gulf. As head of the United Arab Emirates, he is at the heart of every conflict in the region: coup d'état in Egypt, war in Yemen, counter-revolution in Sudan. Thanks to the unlimited financial power of its hydrocarbon resources, the palace of MBZ is the new center of gravity in the Middle East. Its latest geopolitical coup has been the recognition of Israel, which gives it access to cutting-edge military technologies to better combat Iranian influence in the region and monitor its opponents.