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04 February 2020•Update: 05 February 2020
WASHINGTON
Senior officials from the U.S., Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held a "secret" meeting at the White House in December to discuss Iran, according to an American news website.
The Dec. 17 meeting tackled coordination against Iran and "discussion of a UAE-Israel nonaggression pact," Axios reported, citing unnamed Israeli and U.S. officials.
The U.S. team included National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, his deputy Victoria Coates and Washington's special envoy for Iran Brian Hook.
The meeting included Meir Ben-Shabbat, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser and UAE's Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba.
Otaiba is "a very close adviser" to UAE's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, according to Axios.
He was present while U.S. President Donald Trump announced the Israel-Palestine plan along with Netanyahu at the White House last week.
The report said Netanyahu has worked hard to boost a clandestine alliance with the UAE against Tehran, adding that the move happened at a U.S.-led conference in Warsaw, Poland.
The conference in February 2019 was intended to isolate Iran in the Middle East and according to the report, the Trump administration decided to establish a trilateral forum after the conference.
