India, May 15 -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Israeli-US war with Iran, further strengthening ties with a Gulf nation that normalised relations with Israel in 2020, his office said Wednesday. The UAE denied any secret visit had occurred.

Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a gathering that "resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates", according to the Israeli statement. The UAE's official WAM news agency posted an article denying the report about a Netanyahu visit.

According to WAM, the country's relations with Israel "are public and conducted within the framework of the well-known and o...