Israel’s defense minister on Monday said that Israel is helping build a US-led regional air-defense alliance against Iran, and that the partnership has already thwarted attempted Iranian attacks.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said he expected the upcoming visit by President Joe Biden to the region to further strengthen this fledgling alliance.
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy, citing the country's suspect nuclear program and its support for anti-Israel proxies across the region as threats.
Monday's announcement by Gantz was the first time Israel has openly acknowledged a region-wide military alliance with Arab partners as part of its budding regional ties.
In testimony to parliament’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Gantz gave few details about the "Middle East Air Defense Alliance," or MEAD, including what other countries are members or what types of operations it has carried out.
He called it the "first element" of a shared vision "in the face of Iran’s attempts to attack the region’s countries using rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs" - unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
"This program is already operative and has already enabled the successful interception of Iranian attempts to attack Israel and other countries," he said. Biden’s visit, which includes stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia in mid-July, "will support this process," he added.
Two years ago, it established full diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two Gulf Arab countries that also feel threatened by Iran.
Israel last week issued a rare warning ordering citizens to avoid travel to Turkey and urging Israelis in Turkey to leave immediately, saying that Israeli citizens could be targets of Iranian attacks. Gantz said he has ordered the military to prepare a "powerful response" if Israeli citizens are harmed.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told reporters Monday that a joint operation with Turkey succeeded in thwarting several attacks and resulted in the arrest of several suspected operatives on Turkish soil in recent days. He said the aim was "to return the situation in Turkey and Israeli tourism to normal as quickly as possible."
Israel's foreign minister, Yair Lapid, is expected to visit Turkey this week, in the latest sign of warming ties between the countries.
