The United Arab Emirates has flatly rejected reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a covert trip to the Gulf state, dismissing suggestions of any unannounced visit as “baseless”. The denial came after the Israeli prime minister’s office said Mr Netanyahu had travelled to the UAE and held talks with the Emirati president during the war with Iran. Abu Dhabi said those claims were false, adding that no Israeli military delegation had been received in the country. "Any claims regarding unannounced visits or…

JERUSALEM, May 13 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret trip to the United Arab Emirates and met Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the war with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on Wednesday, confirming for the first time that the two leaders had met. The Prime Minister's Office said the encounter produced a "historic breakthrough" in ties between Israel and the UAE. A source familiar with the matter said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, met in Al-Ain,…

Wednesday May 13, 2026 The UAE has strongly denounced the hijacking of an oil tanker off the Yemeni coast, a vessel carrying several Egyptian sailors, and its later diversion into Somali territorial waters. In its statement, the UAE said the incident amounts to a direct threat to maritime security and to the safety of international shipping lanes. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the UAE's full solidarity with Egypt and with the families of the kidnapped sailors, and its support for efforts aimed at…

By  ADAM SCHRECK and AUDREY McAVOYFriday May 8, 2026 This locator map shows Iran and its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo) The Iran war’s fragile ceasefire came under fresh pressure Friday after the United Arab Emirates said it had responded to a missile and drone attack, just hours after the U.S. announced it had stopped attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and carried out retaliatory strikes on Iranian military sites. As Iranian and U.S. negotiators continue searching for a way to end the fighting, both sides have…

Thursday May 7, 2026 Somali pirates have left a hijacked Emirati dhow loaded with lemons adrift after failing in an effort to use it as a floating launch pad for attacks on other ships, security sources in Somalia’s Puntland State state told AFP. The fate of the crew of Fahad-4 remains unclear. No information was immediately available on what happened to the vessel’s sailors after the ship was seized in late April by an 11-man pirate gang as it left Mogadishu with its citrus cargo. Amid a recent surge in similar seizures,…

Basillioh RukangaWednesday May 6, 2026 Officials say operations at the airport, pictured here in February, have been suspended following the drone strikes Sudan has levelled extraordinary accusations against neighbouring Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying the two countries were behind drone strikes on its main airport in what it called "direct aggression". The capital's international airport was struck on Monday, together with military sites across the Greater Khartoum area. The attacks have broken a spell…

Tuesday May 5, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Tuesday flatly denied reports that it had expelled the United Arab Emirates ambassador, calling the claims false and misleading. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said it was alarmed by the spread of what it described as baseless allegations across several media outlets and social media platforms. “The Ministry firmly rejects these claims and urges all media institutions and social media users to exercise accuracy, professionalism,…

The fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States was on the brink on Monday as both sides exchanged fire around the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the United Arab Emirates said it had come under attack for the first time since the truce was declared nearly a month ago. One day after US President Donald Trump announced an operation to escort stranded vessels through the vital waterway, Fox News reported that he warned Iran would be "blown off the face of the earth" if it attacked US ships. Iran, however, gave no…

The United Arab Emirates has announced it will withdraw from the OPEC and OPEC+ oil alliances, a dramatic move that lands a significant blow on the producers' bloc as an extraordinary energy crisis sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran lays bare growing rifts across the Gulf. The departure of the UAE, a longtime OPEC member, threatens to erode the group's influence. OPEC has typically worked to project unity even when disputes over geopolitics and output targets have simmered beneath the surface. UAE Energy Minister Suhail…

By Maha El DahanTuesday April 28, 2026 Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud receives United Arab Emirates' Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan ahead of an exceptional meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the first in-person meeting of Gulf leaders since their states became a front in the Iran war two months ago, In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2026. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights The United Arab Emirates said on…