Netanyahu says he visited the United Arab Emirates "secretly"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he "secretly visited" the United Arab Emirates and met with its president during the war with Iran.

Netanyahu's office said the meeting between the Israeli prime minister and president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had led to a "historic breakthrough."

However, a little later, the UAE Foreign Ministry responded by saying that the claims about the visit were "completely baseless" and insisted that relations between the two countries were not based on "informal agreements."

Iran has struck several targets in the Emirates during the conflict, and Tehran has repeatedly criticized the country for what it sees as closer ties to the US and Israel.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Netanyahu had "publicly revealed what Iran's security services had long ago told the country's leaders."

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He added that collaboration with Israel was "inexcusable" and those who do so "will be held accountable."

However, in its statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry denied reports of Netanyahu's alleged visit or any other Israeli military delegation to the country.

"The United Arab Emirates reaffirms that its relations with Israel are public and develop within the framework of the Abraham Accords, officially recognized and proclaimed, and are not based on non-transparent or unofficial agreements," the response said.

The Abraham Accords are a series of agreements that established normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries during President Trump's first term.

Reuters quoted a source as saying that the meeting between Netanyahu and the Emirati president took place in Al-Ain, an oasis city near the border with Oman, and lasted several hours.

On Tuesday, the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said that Israel sent anti-missile batteries from its Iron Dome system to help the United Arab Emirates fight Iranian attacks.

The Iron Dome is an advanced Israeli air defense system used to intercept and destroy a range of aerial missiles and drones.

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Huckabee also said that the deployment of Iron Dome was the result of an "extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel" based on the Abraham Accords.

The Israeli-US war with Iran appears to have deepened these relations, and has also developed the alliance militarily.