Netanyahu Secretly Visits UAE Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates over the weekend and met President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East.

Two people briefed on the visit said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed met for about an hour on Sunday. The visit was first reported by Israel’s Channel 12 television and was later confirmed by the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency.

According to people familiar with the meeting, the talks included a report alleging that Sheikh Mohamed had warned Netanyahu about a possible Hamas attack before the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel.

One source said Netanyahu asked Sheikh Mohamed to reject the report, which was published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Netanyahu’s office had previously denied the allegation.

A source with firsthand knowledge of the meeting and a regional official briefed on the talks spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not initially been publicly announced.

The UAE Foreign Ministry declined to comment directly on the reports but said it maintains “open and direct lines of communication” with Israel and shares relevant intelligence.

WAM said the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and ways to strengthen cooperation. Other reporting indicated that regional issues, including Iran, were also discussed.

Israel’s Shin Bet security service filed a complaint with the country’s chief military censor against Channel 12, accusing the broadcaster of a serious breach of censorship rules. The agency said the timing of the report had endangered the prime minister, military personnel and operations.

EU Seeks Role in Saudi-Led Maritime Coalition

Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that the European Union is seeking observer status in a Saudi-led maritime security coalition aimed at protecting the kingdom’s energy exports.

Kallas also said the EU wants to strengthen its naval mission in the Red Sea, known as Operation ASPIDES, with additional ships capable of escorting commercial vessels through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

She said the mission faces growing demand for additional vessels as the EU confronts pressure on energy supplies amid the war involving Iran.

Operation ASPIDES is a defensive EU mission tasked with protecting commercial shipping and supporting the security of vital maritime routes in the Red Sea.

Iran, Yemen and Gaza

In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranian forces for what he described as preventing “enemy forces” from freely operating in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a message broadcast Monday, Khamenei said Iran’s adversaries could no longer approach the strategic waterway from closer than the Arabian Sea. He made the remarks marking the second anniversary of the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

Khamenei has not appeared publicly since the initial attacks of the war on Feb. 28, which killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In Yemen, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said a strike by Saudi-backed forces on a residence in Taiz province killed three women and an elderly man and injured three others. The claim could not be independently verified.

The World Health Organization said Sunday that it had recorded 164 deaths and 645 injuries in Yemen between Sept. 19 and Sept. 26. Since Aug. 6, the conflict has killed 838 people and injured 3,643 others, while more than 180,000 people have been displaced.

In Gaza, an Israeli strike on a rooftop in Gaza City killed a woman and injured her husband and another person, according to officials at Shifa Hospital. The Israeli military said it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

A separate Israeli strike on a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp later Monday critically injured one person, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The Israeli military said it had targeted a “military operative” but provided no further details.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said more than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed since a ceasefire took effect nearly a year ago, with women and children accounting for about half of the deaths. International organizations have generally regarded the ministry’s casualty records as reliable.

Iran-UAE Island Dispute Resurfaces

Meanwhile, Iran and the UAE renewed a dispute over the ownership of three Gulf islands — Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunb — during the closing days of the United Nations General Assembly.

The islands were seized by Iran in 1971 from territory that later became part of the UAE and are located near the Strait of Hormuz.

UAE Minister of State Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar accused Iran of occupying the islands in a speech earlier in the day. Later, Nasser Asadi of Iran’s UN mission rejected the criticism, saying Tehran maintains full sovereignty over the islands.

The developments come as diplomatic and military tensions continue to intensify across the Middle East, with the Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea shipping routes and the Israel-Gaza conflict remaining central to regional security concerns.