Netanyahu Briefs UAE Leader on New Intelligence Regarding Iran's Nuclear Program, Source Reveals

Jerusalem — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared new Israeli intelligence with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during a visit to the country on Sunday, indicating that Iran is resuming progress on its nuclear program, an Israeli source with knowledge of the meeting told CNN.

Among the information shared by Netanyahu were details of new construction at the Pickaxe mountain site — located about 140 miles south of the capital Tehran — which is seen as a key location for possible Iranian efforts to rebuild its nuclear program.

The unannounced meeting was dominated by discussions surrounding Iran, an arena where the two countries have deepened their cooperation, including during the current Iran war, according to the Israeli source. WAM, the UAE’s state news agency, confirmed that Sheikh Mohammed and Netanyahu held a meeting, marking the first time the Emiratis publicly acknowledged a visit by Netanyahu.

The two leaders “discussed bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel and ways to strengthen and further develop them,” WAM reported. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office stated that the meeting focused on “strengthening relations between the two countries and regional challenges.”

The visit included Netanyahu’s wife, the head of the National Security Council, the head of the Mossad, a military secretary, and a political adviser, according to the office. Two sources with knowledge of the visit told CNN that a senior Saudi security official also attended the meeting.

According to one source, the talks addressed recent regional developments, including the Houthi militia in Yemen, the vital Bab al-Mandeb waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz. However, Saudi officials have denied that anyone attended the meeting.

The source added that Netanyahu informed the meeting that Israel assesses Iran could initiate an attack in the region in the coming weeks. The rare trip took place exactly one month before Israel’s October 27 election and against the backdrop of political controversy in Israel regarding reports by Haaretz and The New York Times alleging that Sheikh Mohammed had warned Netanyahu of a major Hamas operation days before the October 7, 2023, attack.

Additionally, The Atlantic reported that Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel flew to Israel on September 26, 2023, to warn that Gaza would “blow up.” The Wall Street Journal also reported at least three Egyptian warnings conveyed to Israel about Gaza, with the final one delivered via phone call to Netanyahu just days prior to the attack.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied receiving any warnings and dismissed the reports as fabricated lies intended to damage him electorally. “I never met or spoke to the Egyptian intel chief before Oct. 7, no warning was conveyed to me,” the prime minister posted on X on Monday, adding that “Foreign and hostile states and actors including Arab states are behind the false blood libels.”

Political rivals have used the allegations to make accountability for the failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, attack a central campaign issue. Following initial reports of a warning from Sheikh Mohammed, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry stated earlier this month that it “does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders,” while noting that relevant intelligence has been communicated between the appropriate entities.

Netanyahu’s Likud party subsequently issued a statement posted on the prime minister’s X account alleging “blatant foreign interference” in Israel’s elections by UAE-based Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan, though no evidence was provided. Neither Israel nor the UAE mentioned the reported October 7 warning in their Monday statements regarding Netanyahu’s trip.

Gadi Eizenkot, currently polling as the prime minister’s main challenger in Israel’s upcoming elections, criticized the situation on Saturday, stating that the revelation about the warning “leaves no room for doubt: Netanyahu led, with blindness, arrogance and irresponsibility, the State of Israel to the greatest disaster in its history.”

In May, Netanyahu’s office claimed the prime minister had secretly visited the UAE in March during the early days of the Iran war, describing it as a “historic breakthrough,” though the UAE foreign ministry denied the claim at the time as “completely unfounded.” Security cooperation between the two countries has reached unprecedented levels during the conflict, with reports that Israel deployed an Iron Dome missile defense system to the UAE.