After health rumours, UAE President MBZ seen meeting with US lawmaker 

Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has made his first appearance since rumours about his health spread following a now-deleted statement from the Turkish presidency.

The Presidential Court on Wednesday shared video footage of the Emirati president, also known as MBZ, smiling alongside Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham during a meeting in Abu Dhabi.

WAM, the UAE’s official news agency, also shared photographs of the encounter at Qasr Al Shati, in which MBZ appeared alongside Graham.

In a social media post, the US senator rebuffed in no uncertain terms any claims that the UAE president may be unwell.

“To those who are perpetuating false narratives against the United Arab Emirates and President Sheikh [Mohamed bin Zayed] personally, you are full of it,” Graham said on X.

“Not only is he alive, but he is also well and as sharp as I’ve ever seen him.”

The comments follow a statement by Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier this month travelled to Saudi Arabia and was scheduled for a subsequent visit to the neighbouring UAE.

But on Sunday, Erdogan said in a statement on social media that he was postponing his Abu Dhabi trip because the Emirati leader had a “health problem”. The statement was later deleted.

The incident fuelled rumours online about Sheikh Mohamed’s health, with his Wikipedia page even briefly being edited to say he had passed away.

Graham slammed “those who feel the need to attack MBZ and the UAE for doing the right thing … You do so at your own peril,” he said, without specifying what he referred to.

Later in the same post, the US senator praised Sheikh Mohammed’s “decision to embrace the Abraham Accords”, a pact that normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab states.

The agreement in 2020 met scorn from Erdogan, who portrayed it as a treacherous act to the Palestinian cause.

A growing rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia has brought heightened scrutiny to Abu Dhabi, with online commentary in the kingdom ⁠often targeting MBZ personally.

Saudi-UAE relations have shifted from partnership to rivalry, driven by opposing goals in Yemen and across the region.

Saudi Arabia, which has not joined the Abraham Accords, also accused the UAE of destabilising North Africa and the Horn of Africa and of promoting Israel’s interests in the wider region.