Israel to host ‘historic’ regional summit next week, foreign minister says

Jerusalem (Reuters) – Israel will host a “historic” five-way regional conference next week, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Friday, as talks to revive a nuclear deal with Iran remain in limbo.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco will arrive in Israel for a series of diplomatic meetings on Sunday and Monday, Lapid said in a statement.

The UAE and Bahrain normalised ties with Israel in 2020 under a U.S.-brokered deal known as the Abraham Accords, creating a new regional dynamic based on mutual concern over Iran. Morocco followed suit last year and the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on military cooperation on Friday, the Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Twitter.

The leaders of Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates met in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday for talks on the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s influence, at a time of uncertainty over Washington’s security commitment in the region. Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979.