Senior security officials from the United Arab Emirates and Iran held an in-person meeting after a period of wartime estrangement, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing a Bloomberg account based on people familiar with the situation. The encounter was described as the first face-to-face meeting between senior security representatives of the two countries since the Iran war began.
The development was reported on June 11, 2026, against a backdrop of military confrontation, disrupted regional ties and a ceasefire followed by negotiations between Iran and the United States.
According to the sources cited by Bloomberg, the UAE agreed to the meeting after concluding that Iran’s governing regime would remain in power, despite the Emirati government continuing to regard it as an enemy. The report said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and what was characterized as slow progress in US-Iran talks after the ceasefire also influenced Abu Dhabi’s decision to resume engagement.
Iran had previously sought to restore high-level discussions with the UAE, one source told Bloomberg. The UAE reportedly delayed accepting such contact until it was satisfied that the Iranian delegation would have a direct connection to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. The Jerusalem Post said Khamenei’s condition had been uncertain since the opening phase of the war, with speculation that he had been injured or incapacitated during the initial attacks. The excerpt did not provide confirmation of those claims about his condition.
Military backdrop to the contact
The diplomatic movement followed extensive reported hostilities between the two states. The Jerusalem Post, referring to a Wall Street Journal report, said the UAE coordinated with the United States and Israel during dozens of strikes against Iran in Operation Roaring Lion. That account identified targets including Qeshm and Abu Musa in the Strait of Hormuz, Bandar Abbas and an oil refinery on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf.
The same report said Iran launched more than 2,800 missiles and drones at the UAE, a total described as exceeding the number directed at any other country, including Israel. These figures and the account of Emirati participation in retaliatory operations were attributed to the Wall Street Journal and were not independently substantiated in the available material.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that UAE President Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had expressed frustration with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other neighboring Gulf states after they declined to coordinate a military response to Iranian attacks during the war.
The Jerusalem Post also reported continued regional strikes, saying Iran had launched 20 missiles into Jordanian airspace and sent multiple drones toward Kuwait and Bahrain during the preceding 48 hours. It characterized those actions as retaliation for US strikes, which it said followed the downing of a helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.
Taken together, the reported meeting represented a return to direct security contact while major disputes and the consequences of the conflict remained central to relations between Tehran and Abu Dhabi.
