Israel’s PM Office in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) said, “In the midst of Operation Roaring Lion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.”
“This visit has led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE,” it added.
The UAE Foreign Ministry later issued a clarification stating that there was no visit by the Israeli Prime Minister and the country did not host any Israeli delegation.
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“The United Arab Emirates denies reports circulating regarding an alleged visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UAE, or receiving any Israeli military delegation in the country,” the UAE MoFA said in a statement.
“The UAE reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial arrangements,” it added.
The ministry also said that any claims regarding unannounced visits or undisclosed arrangements are “entirely unfounded unless officially announced by the relevant authorities in the UAE”.
The UAE called on media outlets to exercise accuracy and professionalism, and to “refrain from circulating unverified information or promoting misleading political narratives” in the statement. However, it missed to mention what to do when the claims have been made by other state itself.
The move comes amid the ongoing West Asia crisis when the UAE has alleged that Iran has been launching drone and missile attacks towards it. The Iranian military has denied these claims. On the other hand, there have been reports that the UAE has secretly started to launch retaliatory attacks on Iran.
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