Three countries, one explosive week. Here is how the Iran-UAE-Israel triangle heated up — and what it means.

**Sunday: the secret visit.** Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Abu Dhabi for closed-door talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Israeli media and a senior official quoted by Reuters said the two leaders met for most of the day, with Iran and regional security central to the agenda.

**Monday-Tuesday: confirmation and condemnation.** The UAE confirmed the meeting, framing it around bilateral ties. Then Tehran struck back: Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned of “extremely dangerous consequences” and called Netanyahu’s presence “highly dangerous and alarming,” urging regional states not to become platforms for destabilising actions. Top security official Mohsen Rezaei warned on X of a “heavy cost.” Saudi Arabia denied reports that its representatives had joined the talks.

**The backdrop.** In May, Iran’s foreign minister accused the UAE of being an “active partner” in US-Israeli action against Iran — a charge Abu Dhabi rejected. The region is still absorbing this year’s 40-day US-Israeli war on Iran and a running dispute over three Gulf islands. The week’s events show Gulf diplomacy with Israel deepening even as Tehran’s warnings grow louder.