Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and will meet its president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Bennett's Abu Dhabi visit, his third in recent months, had not previously been announced, an Israeli statement said, adding that the two leaders, whose countries opened relations two years ago, would discuss "various regional issues" but provided no detail.
“Today, together, we will take the special bond that has been woven between our countries to the next level," it quoted Bennett as saying.
In the statement, Bennett also commended the International Atomic Energy Agency's passing of a resolution critical of Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.
On Wednesday, of 35 members states on the IAEA board of governors, 30 voted in favor of the resolution sponsored by the ‘E3’ (France, Germany, the United Kingdom) and the United States.
Before the vote, Iran reacted by announcing that it would turn off two monitoring devices installed by the IAEA at its nuclear installations, a decision that the US condemned. Sources say Iran will also speed up installation of advanced uranium enrichment machines.
The resolution comes with year-long talks paused since March between Iran and six world powers aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), and with continuing preparations in Israel for an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.