Israel's Netanyahu visited UAE during war on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a "secret" visit to the UAE to meet President Mohamed bin Zayed during the US-Israeli war on Iran, Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday.

"During Operation 'Lion's Roar', Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan," the statement said.

The announcement comes the day after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israel sent Iron Dome air defence batteries, along with soldiers to operate them , to the UAE to defend against Iranian attacks.

"Israel just sent them - [the UAE] - Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help them operate them. How come? Because there’s an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords," Huckabee added.

While stopping short of confirming Huckabee's comments, Netanyahu's office said the visit "marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates”.

The UAE established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords. The two countries’ relations have only been strengthened by the war.

An outlier

Their ties make the UAE an outlier among other Arab and Muslim states that have sought to distance themselves from Israel as a result of its genocide in Gaza and, more recently, the US-Israeli war on Iran.

For example, Saudi Arabia, which was mulling normalising ties with Israel a few years ago, has sought new security partners in Turkey and Pakistan. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also publicly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. 

The UAE was the most heavily targeted when Iran responded to the US-Israeli attack by launching strikes on the Gulf. Emirati authorities said Iran launched around 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones at the country. 

But Iran also caused material damage. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Tuesday that the UAE’s main natural gas plant would only return to full capacity next year after being targeted twice by Iran. The Habshan processing facility is only operating at about 60 percent capacity, with plans to return to full capacity in 2027.

Abu Dhabi lobbied publicly and privately for the US to continue attacking Iran and tried to prevent Pakistan from bringing the US and Iran together for talks.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the UAE launched strikes on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Gulf in early April, around the time the US was announcing a ceasefire.

The UAE has not publicly acknowledged the operation. The strike reportedly triggered a large fire and disabled much of the facility’s capacity for months, marking a significant escalation at a time when US President Donald Trump was promoting the ceasefire after a five-week air campaign.

Iran described the incident as an “enemy attack” and responded with a barrage of missile and drone strikes against the UAE and Kuwait.