A diplomatic dispute erupted Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates officially denied reports of a secret visit by Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, just hours after his office confirmed that the trip had taken place during Operation “Roaring Lion.”

In a sharply worded statement, the UAE Foreign Ministry rejected the reports outright, saying, “The United Arab Emirates denies the circulating reports regarding a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu to the country, or the reception of any Israeli military delegation on its territory.” The statement added that “the country emphasizes that its relations with Israel are open relations, established as part of the Abraham Accords, and are not based on secrecy or hidden arrangements.”

The Emirati denial came in response to reports detailing a covert meeting said to have taken place on March 26 in the city of Al Ain, near the UAE-Oman border. According to those reports, Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed for several hours at a location roughly 250 kilometers from Iran’s coastline.

The conflicting accounts have created a complicated diplomatic situation. Netanyahu’s office said earlier in the evening that “during Operation ‘Roaring Lion,’ Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu visited the United Arab Emirates in secret and met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. This visit led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE.”

However, the UAE Foreign Ministry insisted in its statement that “any claim of unannounced visits or arrangements has no basis, unless officially announced by the relevant authorized entities in the United Arab Emirates.”

{Matzav.com}