In an unannounced visit, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Monday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

According to a Yisrael Hayom report, the reason for the meeting, which was planned secretly, is the three countries’ anger at the Biden administration over the impending nuclear deal and its consideration of removing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from its list of terrorist organizations.

According to a source in Abu Dhabi, Emirati officials are “shocked” at the possibility of the IRGC being removed from the US terror list, The Jerusalem Post reported. Additionally, the source said that Emirati officials reported that it’s been difficult to work with the Biden administration regarding security issues, leading to a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken even reportedly canceled a planned trip to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman refused to answer a call from US President Joe Biden regarding oil supply issues in the wake of the sanctions on Russia, due to his ire over US policy in the Gulf.

Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement on Friday saying they “find it hard to believe that the IRGC’s designation… will be removed in exchange for a promise not to harm Americans…. We believe the [US] will not abandon its closest allies in exchange for empty promises from terrorists.”

Bennett later called the US plan to delist the IRGC as “delusional,” saying at a Yediot Achranot conference that the IRGC is “the largest terrorist organization in the world.” Lapid, who also spoke at the conference, said that dialogue between the US and Israel is “complex and we don’t hide the fact that we have differences of opinion with the [Biden] administration.”

Haaretz had a different take on the summit’s purpose, reporting that the meeting was to forge a coalition, with US support, of countries who will stand against Iran, including Israel, Egypt, Turkey and the Gulf states. According to the report, another one of Israel’s goals is to persuade the UAE and Saudi Arabia to increase their oil production to offset Russian oil.

Yisrael Hayom reported that Israel preferred to keep the meeting under wraps but Egyptian officials publicized it.

The official reason for the meeting was to mark the renewal of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sharm el-Sheikh, which was announced last week and is scheduled to begin on Chol Hamoed Pesach.

The new flight route was discussed in the meeting between Bennett and Sisi in September and the security details were finalized in recent weeks.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)