Leaders of Israel, Egypt and UAE Discuss Iran

Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of the UAE, visited Egypt and met with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the country’s president, to discuss Iran’s nuclear negotiations.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, president of Egypt, hosted the Israeli prime minister and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates and the de facto leader of the country on Monday, March 21. Two Egyptian security officials told Reuters that the main topic of discussion among these three high-ranking political officials was nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Shared concerns about Iran prompted the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to establish relations with Israel in 2020 to create a new regional axis during a time of uncertainty about their security ally’s commitment, the United States.

This new regional axis includes Egypt, Persian Gulf countries, and Turkey alongside Israel.

Persian Gulf countries are dissatisfied with the nuclear agreement with Iran signed in 2015 because this agreement does not cover Iran’s missile program and the Islamic Republic’s regional interventions, including in Yemen.

The president of Egypt said he held a bilateral discussion with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of the UAE, and negotiated economic investments in the port of Sharm El-Sheikh in the Red Sea.

The Egyptian presidency office announced in a statement that Sisi emphasized Egypt’s commitment to security in the Persian Gulf and “rejection of any actions aimed at destabilizing it.”

Discussion on Ukraine

No official statement was released regarding Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s remarks, but Egyptian officials who requested anonymity told Reuters that the leaders of the three countries also discussed the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have resisted Western calls to increase oil production and curb crude oil price spikes caused by the war in Ukraine.

Naftali Bennett visited the UAE in December of last year. This was the first visit by an Israeli official to the UAE.

Egypt and Israel, which signed a peace agreement in 1979, also established direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sharm El-Sheikh for the first time since last week.

Naftali Bennett’s visit to Egypt in September was the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to the country in the past decade.

Source: DW