Mossad and Shin Bet Chiefs Visited UAE During Operation Roaring Lion

The same report indicated that Shin Bet chief David Zini also traveled to the UAE as part of those coordination efforts. The visits occurred while Israeli forces conducted Operation Roaring Lion, though the precise dates of the trips were not specified.

The disclosure comes days after the Wall Street Journal published an article asserting that the UAE played a role in recent strikes against Iranian assets. Those strikes included an attack on a refinery at Lavan Island at the beginning of April.

Israeli officials have not publicly confirmed the visits or the nature of any discussions held in the UAE. The Wall Street Journal report did not detail what specific matters were coordinated during the trips by the Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs. Photographs from a separate event on April 20, 2026, showed Barnea and Zini attending a Memorial Day ceremony together at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.

The sequence of reporting first addressed alleged UAE involvement in strikes on Iranian targets before addressing the visits by the two Israeli security chiefs. No casualties or operational details from the Lavan Island attack were included in the accounts.