According to information from diplo.news, the secret military meeting took place in Berlin. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is also said to have spent a few hours in the capital last Thursday.

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Last Thursday, Berlin was on high alert; the government district and the area around the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel near the Zoologischer Garten station were brought to a standstill, the streets were closed, and snipers were stationed on the roof of the Federal Press Conference Building, facing the Federal Chancellery.

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On the surface, the focus that day was on the security of two high-ranking visitors. The head of state of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was on a state visit to Berlin—the first-ever state visit by a president of the Gulf state to Germany—while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was attending the Ambassadors’ Conference at the Federal Foreign Office.

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While the security measures that day seemed unusually high for these two visitors, they were nonetheless justified. In fact, however, the measures were not intended solely for the guest from the Emirates and the head of NATO, but also for the participants in a secret meeting in which even U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is said to have taken part.

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State guests who are in Berlin for only one day usually have a packed schedule. Sheikh Mohammed, on the other hand, had breaks in his itinerary that may have allowed him to attend the secret meeting. The visit on Thursday was framed by two meetings with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The reception with military honors took place at 10 a.m. at Villa Borsig in Berlin-Tegel, as the Presidential Office is currently undergoing renovations. Afterward, the two heads of state met for a one-on-one conversation, followed by a discussion with the delegations. At 7:30 p.m., the Federal President and Elke Büdenbender welcomed the sheikh to a state banquet at the temporary official residence at Spreebogen, located not far from the Chancellery.

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The whole of Berlin felt the impact of what unfolded in the capital that day. The government district and the area around the Foreign Ministry, as well as the West Berlin city center around the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, were blocked off. Many streets and certain subway exits were closed, and helicopters circled over the city. The Tajik ambassador, Imomudin Sattorov, had to move his national holiday reception—scheduled for that day at the Waldorf Astoria—to the Hotel Adlon at short notice. The visit of the guest from Dubai and his delegation served as a pretext. He was not told that the real reason was the American vice president. Hotel guests were instructed not to linger in the lobby but to either return to their rooms or leave the building.

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The VIP lounge at BER Airport was closed on Thursday afternoon. Even high-ranking diplomats were turned away at the entrance. According to information from diplo.news, J.D. Vance is believed to have been in that area and later at the Waldorf Astoria.

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When diplo.news inquired at the U.S. Embassy about details of the American vice president’s visit, they were told to contact J.D. Vance’s office directly. No one would confirm Vance’s personal presence in Berlin, but it was not denied either.

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It wasn’t until late Tuesday evening that a report from Washington revealed a little more about the meeting. A government official is quoted as saying that the U.S. military hosted high-ranking military representatives from eight countries at a conference in Germany last week. The meeting focused on ways to strengthen security cooperation in the Middle East and on Iran.

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diplo.news editorial team