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The IE ports to UNIX are implemented atop Mainsoft's MainWin product, which is a "Win32 API atop UNIX" package. See this item about IE5 and MainWin, which says:

Rather than rewrite the code for the UNIX version, Microsoft chose to use MainWin to rehost the source code on UNIX.

The same was true of IE4, according to stuff on Mainsoft's site.

I saw something ages ago on, I think, Microsoft's Web site indicating that they were developing a Win32-atop-MacOS package and getting third parties to do Win32-atop-UNIX packages; they were, I think, pushing this as a way of getting app developers - or, at least, custom in-house app developers - to write Win32 apps and to get them on other platforms with those packages. I don't know if that's the way they do MacOS ports of their own apps.

...I recall reading a number of months ago that MS did a port of IE to (I believe) Solaris,

Yes, and, if I remember correctly, HP-UX as well.

...using a third party tool that emulated the Win API.

MainWin, from Mainsoft; Mainsoft's home page mentions that it was used for the IE 5.0 port, and an older press release mentions that it was used for IE 4.0 as well (that used to be what Mainsoft's home page mentioned, before 5.0 came out).

...I recall reading a number of months ago that MS did a port of IE to (I believe) Solaris,

Yes, and, if I remember correctly, HP-UX as well.

...using a third party tool that emulated the Win API.

MainWin, from Mainsoft; Mainsoft's home page mentions that it was used for the IE 5.0 port, and an older press release mentions that it was used for IE 4.0 as well (that used to be what Mainsoft's home page mentioned, before 5.0 came out).

In doing so, they did have to port many of the Windows APIs over to these platforms.

Or Mainsoft did.