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Netanyahu ‘blunder’ threatens US-backed Israel-UAE alliance at critical moment with Iran: analyst
The U.S.-brokered alliance designed to counter Iran in the Middle East is showing signs of strain amid tensions between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, an analyst says, as the possibility of a broader conflict with Tehran intensified Sunday.
The friction first surfaced May 13 after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he held a “historic breakthrough” meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a “secret visit” to Al Ain near the Oman border.
The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a swift denial following the announcement.
The ministry said, “Its relations with Israel are public and were established within the framework of the well-known and publicly declared Abraham Accords. These relations are not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements.”
It added, “Therefore, any claims regarding undisclosed visits or arrangements are baseless unless issued by the relevant official authorities in the UAE.”
“The stakes are high,” Middle East Institute analyst Natan Sachs told Fox News Digital.
“I imagine the Israelis are working overtime to mend relations with the UAE, but it is too early to tell,” he said.
President Donald Trump spoke with Netanyahu on Sunday as tensions over Iran escalated and with the Israeli leader saying he was “prepared for every scenario.”
The leaders discussed the possibility of renewing the war with Iran as well as Trump’s recent trip to China, according to the Times of Israel.
Sachs, a senior fellow at the institute, said Netanyahu’s UAE meeting claim “seems like a diplomatic blunder because it embarrasses the UAE.”
“This was an odd move to make since the UAE has been a close partner of Israel, even during this war,” Sachs said.
“Either Netanyahu didn’t think, or he was thinking about something else — domestic politics. It would not be the first time he did that.”
“To the degree that the Emirati anger is genuine, it would have meant working to preserve trust with their Gulf Arab ally,” Sachs added.
“I would also not rule out Emirati anger at the leak itself, which could be seen as a break of trust — something very important to the Emirati leadership.”
The Abraham Accords, brokered by the United States in 2020, fundamentally altered the regional balance by normalizing relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
Security cooperation has since expanded significantly due to shared concerns over Iran’s military ambitions.
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That alliance was tested when Iran launched strikes against UAE military and energy infrastructure during Operation Epic Fury.
Israel is said to have deployed Iron Dome air-defense systems and personnel to the UAE, according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The UAE confirmed Sunday that it had intercepted three drones coming from the west.
“The UAE received much of the fire from Iran. It is the most vulnerable to Iranian short-range missiles, which are more plentiful and cheaper than the medium-range missiles fired at Israel,” Sachs said.
“While short-range missiles can be intercepted, Iran has many more of them. The UAE took the most hits, yet it stood out by sticking most clearly to its strategy of open partnership with Israel.”
“But the public disclosure that Netanyahu himself visited may have just been seen as a step too far,” Sachs added.
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Spencer Pratt vows to leave LA and find ‘last American Dream’ in another city if mayoral bid fails
Spencer Pratt’s love for Los Angeles may only extend through the primaries.
Pratt, 42, admitted that his time in the City of Angels may come to a close if the exit polls don’t align with his mayoral bid.
During a chat with fellow Los Angeleno Adam Carolla from his burned-out lot in the Pacific Palisades, the reality star said that he’s only interested in rebuilding his home if he wins the race.
“I’m going to win the lawsuit against Gavin Newsom’s state park, and with that money, if I’m the mayor of Los Angeles, I will rebuild,” Pratt confessed.
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“If Karen Bass gets re-elected or Nithya [Raman] gets elected, I will be done with trying to live in LA.”
Pratt doubled down on his threat, and said when he wins the lawsuit, he’s packing up to find a new American Dream.
“I’ll take that money from the Newsom state park and the LADWP, and I’ll go somewhere that my kids will not have to see naked zombies, and I can have the last American dream somewhere,” Pratt said.
“But I will not rebuild if these people are in charge, because what would I be putting money into?”
Pratt’s representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Pratt, wife Heidi Montag and more than a dozen additional property owners, blamed the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power for causing damages to their homes in a lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Plaintiffs accused LADWP of making “the conscious decision to operate the water supply system with the reservoir drained and unusable as a ‘cost-saving’ measure,” in the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
The “Hills” star has been a vocal champion for LA residents since losing his home during the deadly Palisades wildfire, and launched his mayoral campaign in January with a focus on ousting incumbent Karen Bass due to mishandling of the wildfires.
While Pratt is a registered Republican, the Los Angeles mayoral election is officially nonpartisan. If no candidate tops 50% in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will face off in November.
Fresh from a star-studded fundraiser hosted by David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Pratt admitted a “mind-blowing” list of influential names back his campaign to save his city.
“The list of mind-blowing movie stars, directors, studio presidents, these are my supporters,” Pratt told the “Ruthless Podcast” earlier this month. “I understand why they aren’t public-facing yet. Once I’m mayor, the support I’ll have for the industry to bring it back. It’s all there.”
In the wake of the devastating 2025 fires, Pratt became a leading advocate for the victims.
“My goal was just for these people to go to jail,” Pratt said. “And then when they didn’t go to jail, and I saw that it was just business as usual, that’s when I decided the only way to stop these people is to take their power from them.”
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Pratt grew up around Democrats, but did not consider himself a political figure before the devastating fires.
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“I haven’t posted a single political thing in my entire life,” the former star of The Hills said. “The only thing I’ve ever done, politics-wise, is back in the day I did a paparazzi set-up photo with a Sarah Palin shirt on, and then the next day I did a paparazzi photo with an Obama shirt on just to get multiple tabloid photos.”
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On April 21, Pratt joined Carolla on his “The Adam Carolla Show” podcast for an episode titled “Spencer Pratt Gets Adam Carolla’s Endorsement for LA Mayor!”
During the episode, Pratt and Carolla discussed homelessness, crime and what they described as failed leadership in Los Angeles, while Pratt outlined his plans to “bring back common sense” to City Hall.
“We have a bunch of Marxist, socialist f—ing r—-ds who are tearing this city down,” Carolla said.
Carolla later shared a photo of himself with Pratt on Instagram writing, “This man is going to save LA. @spencerprat. has my full endorsement for mayor!”
Fox News Digital’s Janelle Ash and the Ruthless Podcast Staff contributed to this report.
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