Israel Says Netanyahu Secretly Visited the UAE During the Iran War. Abu Dhabi Says It Never Happened.

On May 13, 2026, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office released a statement claiming that Benjamin Netanyahu had made a covert trip to the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israeli war on Iran, meeting President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in what was described as a "historic breakthrough" in bilateral relations [1]. Within hours, the UAE's state news agency WAM issued a flat denial, stating that "its relations with Israel are public and were established within the framework of the well-known and publicly declared Abraham Accords" and that these relations "are not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements" [2].

The dueling accounts — one government claiming a meeting happened, the other denying it — have opened a window into the covert dimensions of Israeli-Emirati cooperation during the 2026 Iran war, a conflict that has fundamentally reshaped Middle Eastern security architecture.

What Israel Claims

Netanyahu's office said the visit took place during "Operation Roaring Lion," the name Israel gave to its portion of the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026 [3]. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the meeting occurred on March 26 in the city of Al Ain, near the Omani border, and lasted several hours [4].

The Prime Minister's Office did not specify the substance of the "breakthrough" but framed the visit as evidence of deepening ties forged under fire. Netanyahu's former spokesman Ziv Agmon doubled down after the UAE's denial, writing on Facebook: "As someone who knows the United Arab Emirates well and has lived there for long periods of time, and as someone who accompanied the prime minister on the historic trip that has been top secret until today, I can say that the prime minister was received in Abu Dhabi with the honor of kings" [5]. Agmon further claimed that "Sheikh bin Zayed, his family members, and other dignitaries welcomed us" and that Mohamed bin Zayed "personally drove the prime minister in his personal car from the plane to the palace" [5].

What the UAE Says

The UAE's denial was categorical. WAM's statement said "any claims regarding undisclosed visits or arrangements are baseless unless issued by the relevant official authorities in the UAE" [2]. The denial also extended to reports that an Israeli military delegation had been received in the Emirates [6].

Several factors explain why Abu Dhabi would deny the visit even if it occurred. The UAE has faced sustained Iranian missile and drone attacks since the war began, with its air defenses intercepting 537 ballistic missiles, 2,256 drones, and 26 cruise missiles between February and April 2026, killing 13 people and injuring 224 [7]. Confirming a secret wartime visit from the Israeli prime minister would risk further escalation from Tehran. The UAE has also been working to reassure nervous investors that it remains a safe business hub [6].

Source: Wikipedia / UAE MoD

Data as of May 14, 2026CSV

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded to the reports by warning that "those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account," adding pointedly: "Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran's security services long ago conveyed to our leadership" [8].

The Broader Intelligence Picture

The Netanyahu visit claim did not emerge in isolation. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 11 that Mossad Director David Barnea made at least two secret visits to the UAE during March and April 2026 to coordinate with Emirati officials on the Iran conflict [9]. Shin Bet chief David Zini also reportedly traveled to the Emirates in recent weeks [10]. Neither Israel nor the UAE has confirmed these intelligence visits.

These reports followed an even more consequential revelation: the WSJ reported on May 11 that the UAE itself secretly conducted military strikes against Iran, including an early April attack on Iran's Lavan Island oil refinery in the Persian Gulf that disabled much of the facility's processing capacity [11]. The UAE reportedly used Mirage 2000-9 fighter jets for the strike and has not publicly acknowledged the operation [11]. Iran attributed the attack to "enemy action" and launched retaliatory missiles and drones against the UAE and Kuwait in response [11].

On May 12, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed that Israel had deployed Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and military personnel to the UAE to help defend against Iranian attacks — the first time the system has been deployed outside Israel and the United States [12]. Huckabee praised Abu Dhabi as an "example" of strong Israel-Gulf ties [12].

Taken together, these disclosures paint a picture of a military and intelligence partnership far deeper than the public diplomatic framework of the Abraham Accords would suggest.

The Abraham Accords: From Trade Pact to War Alliance

When Israel and the UAE signed the Abraham Accords in September 2020, the agreement was presented as a normalization deal focused on trade, tourism, and economic development. Bilateral trade grew rapidly, from roughly $200 million in 2020 to over $3 billion by 2024 [13]. A free trade agreement — Israel's first with an Arab state — was enacted in April 2023 [13]. Defense cooperation expanded in parallel, with Elbit Systems winning a $53 million UAE avionics contract and the two countries collaborating on drones, satellites, and cybersecurity [14].

Source: Chatham House / Israel CBS

Data as of May 14, 2026CSV

But the 2026 Iran war transformed the relationship into something qualitatively different. In 2021, Israel was placed under US Central Command (CENTCOM), integrating it into Gulf defense networks for the first time [14]. Joint maritime exercises followed. By 2024, 12 percent of Israeli arms exports — nearly $2 billion — went to Abraham Accords signatories [15]. A Foreign Policy analysis published in May 2026 argued that the Accords "laid the groundwork for a new era of violence, providing political cover for genocide in Gaza and enabling a reckless war against Iran" [15].

The question of whether Netanyahu visited the UAE during that war is, in one sense, a detail. The deeper story is that the Abraham Accords signatories have become active participants in a regional conflict with Iran, whether or not any particular head of state physically set foot in another's country during it.

Why Would Each Side Lie?

The case that the visit happened and the UAE is covering

Several circumstantial factors support the Israeli account. Netanyahu's office made the claim publicly, attaching a named spokesman's detailed personal testimony — including specifics about Mohamed bin Zayed personally driving Netanyahu from the airport [5]. Fabricating such a claim, which could be definitively disproven, would carry severe diplomatic costs. The Wall Street Journal's reporting on Mossad and Shin Bet visits to the UAE provides independent evidence of a pattern of covert high-level Israeli travel to the Emirates during the war [9][10].

The UAE has clear incentives to deny: managing Iranian retaliation, protecting investor confidence, and maintaining diplomatic flexibility with other regional powers. Israel Hayom's analysis noted that confirming such visits "could serve as a pretext for escalation" at a time when the UAE was under sustained Iranian bombardment [16].

The case that the visit didn't happen and Israel is fabricating

There are reasons for skepticism. Netanyahu faces upcoming elections and has a political incentive to project diplomatic achievements during wartime [17]. The timing of the announcement — weeks after the alleged visit and days after the WSJ's revelations about UAE strikes on Iran — could suggest an opportunistic claim designed to ride a wave of stories about Israeli-Emirati military cooperation.

No independent media outlet has produced photographs, flight data, or named eyewitnesses beyond Agmon's Facebook post. The meeting was allegedly in Al Ain, which is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (not Dubai as one early report incorrectly stated) [4]. The lack of independent verification is notable, though wartime secrecy complicates standard sourcing.

Planted stories about Israeli-Gulf relations have circulated during previous regional tensions. Iran has historically used allegations of Israeli presence in Gulf states to pressure those states diplomatically, and Israel has at times used claims of expanding normalization to project diplomatic momentum.

Netanyahu's Whereabouts in Late March

Public records provide only a partial accounting of Netanyahu's schedule during the alleged visit window. In early March 2026, he visited a missile impact site in Beersheba (March 6), spoke with French President Macron (March 5), met with local council heads and visited the National Health Command Center (March 10), and held a press conference in Jerusalem (March 19) [18]. The Israel Defense Forces launched a limited ground incursion into Iran on March 17 [19].

No publicly available Israeli government readout accounts for Netanyahu's movements on March 26 specifically. Iranian media circulated conspiracy theories about Netanyahu's death or injury during this period, which his office denied [20]. The gap in public accounting neither confirms nor refutes the UAE visit claim.

Other Abraham Accords Partners

Among other Accords signatories, the UAE and Bahrain have emerged as the most deeply integrated into Israeli security frameworks. Both countries participated in CENTCOM-led joint exercises and have been described as "front-line adopters" of a model that combines normalization with Israeli air and missile defense, intelligence sharing, and naval cooperation [21].

No reports have emerged of secret Netanyahu visits to Bahrain, Morocco, or Sudan during the same period. However, the broader pattern of military coordination among Accords signatories — including Saudi Arabia's reported intelligence sharing during Iran's April 2024 retaliatory strike [15] — suggests that the UAE is not the only Gulf state whose wartime relationship with Israel extends beyond public acknowledgment.

Legal and Diplomatic Implications

If the visit occurred, it would raise questions under several frameworks. The UAE is not a member of any treaty that explicitly prohibits receiving foreign heads of state, but undisclosed wartime coordination could complicate Abu Dhabi's position at the United Nations, where it has historically sought to balance Gulf security interests with broader diplomatic relationships, including with countries that do not recognize Israel [22].

Iran's foreign minister has framed the alleged cooperation as grounds for accountability, though no specific legal mechanism has been invoked [8]. The more immediate consequence is diplomatic: confirmation of a secret Netanyahu visit would undermine the UAE's carefully maintained posture of transparency and could embolden Iranian hardliners advocating for continued attacks on Emirati targets.

What Comes Next

The ceasefire between the US and Iran, in effect since April 8, has been fragile. The UAE reported fresh drone and missile attacks as recently as May 8, even after the formal cessation of hostilities [23]. The dispute over whether Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi may seem like a diplomatic footnote, but it reflects a fundamental tension at the heart of the post-Accords Middle East: the gap between what Gulf states do with Israel in practice and what they acknowledge in public.

That gap has widened during the 2026 Iran war. Iron Dome batteries are deployed in the Emirates. The Mossad chief reportedly made multiple wartime visits. The UAE allegedly struck Iranian territory with its own aircraft. Whether Netanyahu himself flew to Al Ain on March 26 matters less than the fact that the relationship between Israel and the UAE has moved far beyond diplomatic normalization and into active military alliance — a reality that neither side's official statements fully capture.