Israel is participating for the first time in a naval exercise in the Red Sea, led by the United States and involving some 60 countries and organizations, some of which do not recognize the Jewish state.
According to a US Navy statement on Tuesday, 9,000 personnel and 50 ships from more than 60 countries and international organizations are participating in the biannual International Maritime Exercise (IMX), which began Monday and will last 18 days.
On Monday, Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed on Twitter that the Hebrew state would participate “for the first time” in the IMX exercise.
The latter comes once morest a backdrop of heightened tensions in the region due to concerns over Iran’s nuclear program and several drone and missile attacks by Yemeni rebels once morest Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in January.
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Countries participating in the naval exercise include Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Oman and Yemen, which do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.
However, the Saudi kingdom and the Jewish state share the desire to counter Iran’s influence in the region.
Israel had already participated in the first joint naval exercises with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in November, a year following the normalization of its relations with the two Gulf countries.
AFP INFORMATION