TEHRAN — Naftali Bennett is the first Israeli premier to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is seeking to strengthen ties with the Emirates at a complicated time.

A year after the ties between Israel and the UAE were normalized, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAE's de facto leader, met with Bennett.

Israel's prime minister stated that he wished to strengthen economic and commercial relations.

He was also anticipated to call on the UAE to adopt a firmer position in response to Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

When Bennett landed in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night, he was greeted by the UAE's foreign minister and an honor guard.

According to the official WAM news agency, Sheikh Mohammed expressed optimism that the visit will “advance the relationship of cooperation towards further good steps in the interests of the people of the two nations and the region.”

Israeli media outlets reported that Bennett has visited to the UAE to discuss a possible sale of the Iron Dome technology to the UAE.

Iron Dome is the name for the Israeli aerial defense system, which failed miserably during the 12-day war with Gaza in May of the current year. 

The visit comes as Jordan state news agency Petra reported on Monday that Iran and Saudi Arabia security officials have met in Amman and discussed missile program and cooperation in the field of nuclear fuel in detail. 

Iran’s military chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri also said late on Monday that he has met with Saudi and Emirati officials in order to boost regional security ties. 

However, he expressed his surprise over the “normalization” of ties between southern Persian Gulf countries and Israel, noting that peace in the West Asia region cannot be achieved with the presence of Israel in the region.

“The surprising point is that some countries in the south of the Persian Gulf have established relations with the Zionist regime. The enmity of the Zionist regime with the Islamic world and the Muslims of the region is not hidden from anyone, and establishing relationship, with the insistence of the United States and the conspiracies they are carrying out, will definitely lead to a troubled future for the region,” the top commander remarked. 

Iran has always welcomed peace and de-escalation in the region, but it is crystal clear that Israel’s presence in the region is detrimental to peace as the Israeli regime is actively trying to sabotage the ongoing nuclear deal talks between Iran, the P4+1 (Russia, China, France, UK, and Germany) and the United States in Vienna by threatening to take military action against Iran. 

On Thursday, Israeli war minister Benny Gantz met his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, saying that Iran is “playing poker with a bad hand.”

Austin also played along, saying that the United States is prepared for other options if the Vienna talks fail.

“We share Israel’s deep concerns about the Iranian government’s destabilizing actions, including its support for terrorism and its missile program, and its alarming nuclear advances,” Austin said. 

He then stated that Biden is prepared to take other options, noting, “The president has made clear that if the policy fails, we are prepared to turn to other options.”

These destructive moves will not help the United States achieve results in Vienna. Diplomacy will finally prevail.