TEHRAN – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will not take part at the UN climate conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the president of the Zionist regime of Israel has been invited to the forum.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian on the sidelines of the “Friends of BRICS” meeting in Cape Town in early June, had invited President Raisi to participate in the climate summit hosted by his country.

The COP28 international climate conference began November 30 and will run until December 12. Iranian Energy Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian will represent Iran at the summit.

More than 140 heads of state and government are due to address COP28 on Friday and Saturday.

Jerusalem Post wrote that Israeli President Issac Herzog plans to use the conference in the UAE as an opportunity to hold talk with officials to help prepare the ground for the release of Israelis captured by Hamas in the October 7 attack on southern Israel.

In a phone call with his Emirati counterpart earlier on Thursday, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, pointed to the bitter events in Gaza, complained about the presence of Israel which is committing “war crimes and genocide” against Palestinians.

Herzog met his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of UN climate talks on Thursday as part of a diplomatic push to release captives held by Hamas, AFP reported.

Herzog's visit to the UAE comes nearly eight weeks into the Israeli war on Gaza and coincides with a day-long extension to a truce that has seen Israeli captives freed in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

He "appealed" to his Emirati counterpart "to employ his full political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages," a statement by his office said.

Iranian and UAE foreign ministers assess the situation in Gaza

In their Thursday telephone conversation, the Iranian and UAE foreign ministers assessed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip in the light of a truce between Hamas and Israel that went into effect last Friday.

Amir Abdollahian said, “Islamic countries must go on with their efforts to fully halt the war crimes of the Zionist regime and help open more crossings for delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Iran’s chief diplomat added it is widely expected that the United Nations Security Council to ratify an “effective resolution in line with its duties toward the Palestinian people”.

Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed also elaborated on the performance of his country at regional and international level in regard to the Gaza war and said his country will make utmost efforts to extend ceasefire and sending aid to the Gazans.

The UAE foreign minister also briefed his Iranian counterpart about the performance of the UAE in holding the UN conference on climate change.

Amir Abdollahian thanked the UAE president for inviting the Iranian president to the conference and explained the views of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this regard to the top Emirati diplomat.