"Secret meeting" between the US, Israel and Arab countries to counter the Iranian threat

The Wall Street Journal reported on a “secret meeting” between the United States, Israel, and several Arab countries in the Middle East to discuss ways to counter Iran’s drone and missile advances. The unprecedented meeting was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The Wall Street Journal reported on a “secret meeting” between the United States, Israel, and several Arab countries in the region to discuss ways to counter the Iranian drone and missile threat. The unprecedented meeting was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, July 26 (June 26), citing American and regional sources, that Israeli officials discussed options for countering Iran's growing missile and drone capabilities in a secret and unprecedented meeting with senior Israeli and Arab military officials in March in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

This is the first time that such a range of senior officers from Israel and Arab countries have met under the auspices of the US military to discuss how to counter a common threat.

The Wall Street Journal reported that while such military cooperation was unthinkable a few decades ago, Israel and its neighbors discussed “possible joint military cooperation” in the early stages of the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.

According to this American newspaper, several changes have provided the context for the meeting: shared concerns about the Islamic Republic's missile and drone capabilities, improved political relations as a result of the "Abraham Accords," and the previous US administration's decision to expand the area covered by US Central Command in the Middle East to include Israel.

This is despite the fact that Islamic Republic officials had previously announced that joint military activities between Israel and some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf were taking place "out of desperation."

According to what the Wall Street Journal has published, the meeting was attended by General Frank McKenzie, then head of the US Central Command, Aviv Kohavi, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, Chief of Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces, and a number of senior military officers from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Qatar.

General McKenzie had previously stated that Iran is the most significant threat in the region and that his country's focus is on countering Iranian threats.

Meanwhile, some of the countries present at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting declined to comment on the meeting when asked by the Wall Street Journal, and some others refused to participate.

Only the Abu Dhabi government has stated: "The UAE is not a party to any military alliance or regional cooperation aimed at a specific country, and is not aware of any official discussions regarding such a regional military alliance."

According to informed sources of the Wall Street Journal, the participants in the Sharm el-Sheikh talks reviewed hypothetical scenarios for joint identification and defense against an air threat and reached an agreement on various methods of informing when an air threat is identified.

The newspaper announced the next step as seeking the support of political leaders to develop information arrangements and determine the interests of Middle Eastern leaders in expanding cooperation.

The news of a secret meeting between the United States, Israel, and the Arab countries of the Middle East, which was held in March of this year, was published by the Wall Street Journal nearly three months later, while King Abdullah II of Jordan recently spoke about the idea of ​​forming a military alliance like NATO in the Middle East.

Recently, the Israeli Defense Minister said in the country's parliament that Israel is creating a regional air defense coalition under the support of the United States.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia in mid-July. He is also scheduled to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

During this trip, in addition to meeting and talking with officials from the aforementioned countries, Joe Biden will also participate in a joint meeting of the leaders of the Persian Gulf countries, Egypt, and Jordan.

Source: DW