Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attacked the United Arab Emirates at a meeting of foreign ministers from the BRICS bloc in New Delhi, following a Wall Street Journal report this week that the UAE had carried out covert military strikes against Iran, as well as the Prime Minister's Office's announcement that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made a secret visit to the Emirates and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
"The Emirates was directly involved in the act of aggression against my country. When this aggression began, it refrained even from condemning it," Araghchi was quoted as saying in a report by Iran's Mehr news agency. According to the report, Araghchi made the remarks in response to, and in the presence of, the Emirati representative at the meeting.
Araghchi added: "The Emirati representative speaks about international law, but please tell me, which clause in international law permits support for an unjustified act of aggression? Everyone knows that we were in the middle of negotiations when the Americans and Israelis decided to attack us, and we were surprised to discover that our brothers in the Emirates had decided to actively join the aggressors."
The tensions between Iran and the UAE could thwart a joint statement at the end of the high-level meeting.
Before the gathering, Araghchi attacked the Emirates on X: "Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran's security services long ago conveyed to our leadership. Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable. Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account."
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Netanyahu had secretly visited the Emirates during the war and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and that the visit "led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates." Abu Dhabi denied the report, clarifying that its relations with Israel were "open and conducted within the framework of the officially declared Abraham Accords, and are not based on nontransparent or unofficial arrangements."
The Wall Street Journal revealed that the UAE had carried out covert strikes in Iran during the war, including an attack on the oil refinery on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf in early April, on the eve of the ceasefire. According to the report, the move came in response to extensive Iranian attacks on the UAE throughout the war, with more than 2,800 missiles and drones launched at the Emirates from Iran, more than at any other country Tehran attacked during the war.
