Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asserted that he conducted a clandestine visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid the Iran conflict, meeting with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Netanyahu’s office announced this on Wednesday, highlighting the historic advancement in relations between Israel and the UAE as a result of the meeting. The discussions reportedly took place on March 26 in Al Ain, a city near the Oman border.
During the Iran war, Israel expanded its cooperation with the UAE, with Mossad director David Barnea reportedly making multiple trips to the UAE to coordinate military strategies. Furthermore, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, revealed that Israel had extended its air defense system to the UAE, deploying Iron Dome batteries and military experts to assist during the conflict. Huckabee described the relationship between the two nations as extraordinary.
However, the UAE’s foreign ministry dismissed claims of Netanyahu’s visit as unfounded. Despite this denial, reports suggest that the UAE conducted its own covert operations against Iran, including an assault on a refinery on Lavan island in early April. These actions were allegedly in retaliation for Iranian strikes on UAE oil infrastructure.
The UAE was the first Islamic nation to normalize relations with Israel in 2020, followed by Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan in the Abraham Accords. The UAE has since pursued a closer alliance with Israel, diverging from Saudi Arabia’s influence, notably exiting the Saudi-led oil group OPEC earlier this month, which weakened the cartel’s impact on global markets.
Both Israel and the UAE have nurtured strong ties with the Trump administration, which were further solidified during the Iran conflict. Nonetheless, both countries face scrutiny and potential repercussions from changes in US administration and policy. Israel has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant. Meanwhile, the UAE is accused of supporting the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, implicated in severe human rights violations, though the UAE government denies these allegations despite substantial evidence.