Saudi Arabia denies officials met Israel’s Netanyahu in UAE

Israeli media had claimed that Saudi officials attended an expanded meeting after the talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, saying the focus was security cooperation, Iran, Yemen’s Houthis and regional defence systems. — AFP pic

First Published: Wednesday, 30 Sep 2026 4:59 PM MYT

RIYADH, Sept 30 — A Saudi official denied to AFP reports that representatives of the kingdom had taken part in a meeting on Sunday in Abu Dhabi between Israel’s premier and the UAE president.

Israeli media had claimed that Saudi officials attended an expanded meeting after the talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, saying the focus was security cooperation, Iran, Yemen’s Houthis and regional defence systems.

“No official meetings. No talks. Nothing whatsoever. Our stance on Israel remains unchanged,” a Saudi official told AFP on Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates is a top US ally in the region and one of a handful of Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2020.

Saudi Arabia has maintained that it will not normalise relations with Israel without a clear path to Palestinian statehood. — AFP