JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Monday that he made a secret visit to Abu Dhabi on September 27 for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, in a meeting in which Iran dominated the agenda, according to a source familiar with the visit cited by CNN.
Both Israeli and Emirati authorities publicly confirmed the meeting on September 28. It was the first known visit by Netanyahu to the Gulf state since before the October 7, 2023 attacks — a sign of revived strategic coordination between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
An official description of the roughly hour-long meeting, reported by the Associated Press, said the leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional challenges. A CNN source familiar with the visit said Iran dominated the talks. Netanyahu said he met the Emirati president to “promote strategic relations.”
The trip came less than a week after the UAE issued an unusual public denial that Netanyahu had offered to bring its leader “hummus on a ship” as a concession for accepting an Iran peace deal — an episode that underscored the sensitivity around the Israeli leader’s diplomatic maneuvering in the Gulf.
The visit also falls one month before Israel’s scheduled October 27 parliamentary election, giving Netanyahu a high-profile foreign-policy moment at a time when U.S.–Iran military confrontation has put the region on edge.
Controversy persists over separate reports that the UAE warned Netanyahu of a planned Hamas attack before October 7, 2023. Netanyahu denies ever receiving such a warning.
For the Emirates, the public confirmation of a Netanyahu visit — the first since the Gaza war began — signals a willingness to be seen engaging Israel openly even as the region slides toward further confrontation.