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On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed a defense agreement with Bahrain that includes cooperation in the fields of intelligence, equipment procurement, and training. This step is unprecedented for Israel with a Gulf state since the normalization of relations more than a year ago. Gantz considered that this memorandum of understanding raises the relationship of the two countries to “new heights.”
In a step that is the first of its kind with a Gulf country since Establishing diplomatic relations With Manama and Abu Dhabi more than a year ago, Israel on Thursday signed a defense agreement with Bahrain.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz considered, during his first visit to Bahrain, that the memorandum of understanding, which includes cooperation in the fields of intelligence, equipment procurement, and training, raises the relationship of the two countries to “new horizons.”
“Only one year following the signing of the (normalization) agreements, we reached an important defense agreement that will contribute to the security of the two countries and the stability of the region,” he added in a statement.
Earlier, the Minister of Defense called for deepening regional cooperation between Israel and its allies to confront “naval and air threats”, during a visit to the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, off Iran.
Gantz, the first Israeli defense minister to visit Bahrain, toured the US destroyer USS Cole, which is scheduled to head to Abu Dhabi to help the Gulf ally in confronting Houthi attacks.
The headquarters of the American fleet is located off the Gulf waters, a few hundred kilometers from Iran, and at a sea area that hundreds of tankers carrying oil cross daily, and in recent years it has witnessed attacks once morest ships that Tehran was accused of being behind.
Gantz tweeted, “Against the backdrop of increasing naval and air threats, our close cooperation is more important than ever.”
His statement included that “deepening cooperation will enable us to maintain regional stability and defend the common interests of Israel, the United States and Bahrain,” adding, “We reaffirmed once once more our commitment to stand united in defending the sovereignty of our regional partners as well as peace and stability in the region.”
It is reported that Gantz arrived in Manama on Wednesday on his first official visit to Bahrain since the agreement to normalize relations between the two countries in the year 2020 following the normalization of relations with the UAE, in a historic agreement that gave Israel an unprecedented foothold in the region close to Iran, the biggest enemy of the Jewish state .
On Tuesday, a major naval exercise was launched in the region led by the United States and with the participation of 60 countries and joint organizations, including Israel, which is participating for the first time in these exercises along with a number of countries that do not establish diplomatic relations with it, including Saudi Arabia.
The commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, said following Gantz’s tour that the visit “highlights the importance of the decades-old strategic relationship of the US Fifth Fleet with Bahrain and the expansion of the partnership with Israel.”
The training comes at a time of rising tension in the region due to the controversial Iranian nuclear program, and the Yemeni targeting of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are preparing to receive the destroyer “USS Cole” and American fighters to support it in confronting the attacks.
Last July, the oil tanker M/T Mercer Street, operated by an Israeli businessman, was attacked off Iran, killing two of its crew. Several countries, most notably the United States, Britain and Israel, accused Iran of being behind the attack, which Tehran denied.
Israel, which considers Iran its archenemy, fears that Tehran will soon reach the “nuclear threshold”, meaning that it will have enough fuel to produce an atomic bomb.
FRANCE 24/AFP