It can be reported that, in addition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Shin Bet Director David Zini, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir also flew to the United Arab Emirates and visited the country, accompanied by senior defense officials, during Operation Roaring Lion.
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that during Operation Roaring Lion, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had conducted a clandestine visit to the United Arab Emirates, which sits roughly 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Iran, and met during the trip with the country's president, Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed. The Prime Minister's Office said the visit had produced a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE.
Israel Hayom has learned that the visit lasted only a few hours and was carried out with the knowledge of only a handful of people in the prime minister's inner circle, owing to the substantial security risk posed by traveling so close to Iran in the middle of the war. An Emirati official told Israel Hayom, "Bibi came here because he wanted to show that he does not abandon his allies. He is proving that he stands by his partners. Even his detractors here admit it."
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Mossad director visited the UAE twice to coordinate the war against Iran. In parallel, after the disclosure in the United States, Kan Bet (Israel's public radio news channel) revealed that Shin Bet Director David Zini had also been in the UAE.
