ABU DHABI
\nIsrael\u2019s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held talks with the leader of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday during a surprise visit, a day after a formal rebuke of Iran by the UN\u2019s nuclear watchdog.
\nBennett\u2019s second trip to the UAE, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020, also comes after the two countries struck a free-trade deal last month and as his governing coalition faces a serious challenge from the right-wing opposition.
\nThere was no prior announcement of the trip, which Bennett\u2019s office described as a \u201csnap visit\u201d at the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAE\u2019s newly appointed president. Speaking before leaving Israel, Bennett hailed the International Atomic Energy Agency for its motion condemning Iran\u2019s lack of cooperation with the UN body.
\nApproved by 30 members of the IAEA board with only Russia and China voting against, the motion was the first criticising Iran since 2020, and came as talks flounder on reviving an accord aimed at curbing Tehran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.
\n\u201cWe see here a firm stance by the countries of the world regarding the distinction between good and evil, as they clearly state that Iran is concealing things,\u201d Bennett said, according to a statement from his office.
\nConcern about Iran, including its alleged nuclear programme, was widely viewed as a factor that led the UAE to forge ties with Israel under the US-brokered deals known as the Abraham Accords.
\nThe UAE was the first Gulf country to normalise relations with Israel and only the third Arab nation to do so after Egypt and Jordan. Bennett and Sheikh Mohammed discussed investment, food security and \u201cother vital sectors\u201d, the UAE\u2019s official WAM news agency said, without giving details.
\nBennett also expressed his condolences over the death last month of Sheikh Khalifa, the UAE\u2019s long-ailing ruler who was replaced by Sheikh Mohammed, already the de facto leader. The free-trade agreement signed in May — Israel\u2019s first with an Arab state — abolished customs duties on more than 95 percent of products exchanged between the two sides.
\nTwo-way trade last year totalled some $900 million dollars, according to Israeli figures. Talks for the free-trade agreement began in November and concluded after four rounds of negotiations.
\nBennett and Sheikh Mohammed met twice last year, in Abu Dhabi in December and in Egypt. On Monday Bennett\u2019s government, which recently lost its majority in parliament, suffered a key opposition defeat — over upholding Israeli law in settlements in the occupied West Bank — that called its stability into question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ABU DHABI Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held talks with the leader of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday during a surprise visit, a day after a formal rebuke of Iran by the UN\u2019s nuclear watchdog. Bennett\u2019s second trip to the UAE, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020, also comes after the two countries […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265633,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8402,1430,174,1076],"class_list":{"0":"post-265610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-iran-snub","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-trade","11":"tag-uae"},"yoast_head":"\n