Netanyahu Made Secret UAE Visit During Iran War

2026-05-13 07:03:05

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Trans Asia News

London – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran, his office announced on Wednesday, describing the previously undisclosed trip as a turning point in bilateral relations between the two countries.

“In the midst of the US-Israeli war on Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates and met with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

“This visit led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” the statement added.

The disclosure comes amid a series of reports indicating that wartime cooperation between Israel and the UAE expanded far beyond the diplomatic and economic framework established under the 2020 Abraham Accords, evolving into direct military and intelligence coordination during the confrontation with Iran.

The head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, visited the UAE at least twice during the war with Iran to help coordinate operations, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Barnea travelled secretly to the UAE on at least two separate occasions in March and April, the report said, highlighting a growing partnership between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.

The two countries also reportedly coordinated an attack on a major Iranian petrochemical site.

Israel and the UAE normalized ties in 2020. In 2018, Netanyahu reportedly flew to the UAE for a secret meeting with bin Zayed.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan separately reported on Wednesday that Shin Bet chief David Zini had also visited the UAE in recent weeks amid the ceasefire and continuing tensions with Iran.

According to Kan, the visit reflected deepening security ties between the two countries.

Israeli media had previously reported that the UAE and Israel had coordinated closely on military and political matters since the start of the war, although details of the cooperation were not initially disclosed.

Last month, Axios reported that Israel had sent an Iron Dome air defence battery along with military personnel to the UAE early in the conflict with Iran.

Israeli officials told Axios that the UAE sought support from allies in response to the scale of Iranian attacks, prompting Netanyahu to order the deployment following a call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

A senior Israeli official quoted by Axios said it was the first time Israel had deployed the Iron Dome system to another country and the first time it had been used outside Israel and the United States.

Despite the political sensitivity surrounding the presence of Israeli troops in a Gulf state, Emirati officials reportedly said the war with Iran had shifted public attitudes, with any country helping defend the UAE viewed positively.

Tariq Al Otaiba, a former UAE National Security Council official, said at the time that Israel was among the countries that had provided“real support” to the UAE, alongside the United States, through military aid, intelligence sharing and diplomatic backing.

The Wall Street Journal also reported earlier this week that the UAE had carried out previously undisclosed military operations against Iran at the start of last month. According to the paper, Emirati strikes targeted an oil refinery on Iran's Lavan Island in early April.

The report came a day after U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israel had sent Iron Dome air defence systems and personnel to the UAE to help defend it from Iranian retaliation.

“Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to operate them,” Huckabee said at a conference in Tel Aviv.“How come? Because there is an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel based on the Abraham Accords.”

Huckabee also praised Abu Dhabi as an example of the benefits of normalisation with Israel.

“I think that the UAE is an example - they were the first Abraham Accord member, but look at the benefits that they have had as a result,” he said.

The UAE was among the Arab states that normalised relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords. The latest reports suggest that cooperation between the two countries expanded during the Iran war from diplomatic and economic ties into direct security coordination.

Barnea has previously described the Iran campaign as part of a wider Israeli intelligence and operational effort.

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Speaking at a Mossad commendations ceremony last month, he said recent operations“allowed us to break boundaries in Lebanon and Iran”.

He said Israel had acquired“strategic and tactical intelligence from the heart of the enemy's secrets” and had carried out“a clandestine diplomatic campaign” that was critical to regional alliances.

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