JERUSALEM: Israel and Bahrain signed a defense agreement on Thursday during the visit of Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz to Manama, the capital of Bahrain.
The deal encompasses multiple areas including military-to-military industrial cooperation, bilateral exercises, and intelligence sharing.
It comes at the back of rising tensions with Iran as the nuclear deal unravels and the conflict in Yemen heats up with more missile strikes by the Houthis on Gulf states. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels recently launched a series of missile strikes at the United Arab Emirates.
This development is a part of an ongoing effort, led by the West, to send a strong message to their common enemy Iran.
In the past, Bahrain and Israel have secretly maintained ties to avert the threat from Iran. However, it was only after the two nations normalized ties in November 2020, embassies were opened, followed by air corridors and business cooperation.
Under Washington’s strong leadership, Israel established bilateral ties with a number of Gulf States including Morocco and the UAE. The initiative resulted in the signing of the Abraham Accords – a series of diplomatic pacts between Israel and four Arab countries under the Trump administration.
Gantz referred to the agreement as a new high point in the two countries’ relationship that will help protect other countries in the region while adding that it is designed to help advance intelligence cooperation, a framework for exercises” and strengthen ties between the countries’ defense industries.
The memorandum is Israel’s second with an Arab nation after Gantz signed one with Morocco last year.
Earlier in the day, when the Israeli defense minister visited the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet stationed in Bahrain, he was flanked by Bahrain’s defense minister, and the commander of Israel’s navy.
At the occasion, Gantz said: “Over the past year, Israel’s cooperation with the 5th Fleet has expanded”. This strategic cooperation is critical in facing developing challenges in the region and will enable us to maintain regional stability and to defend the common interests of Israel, the United States, and Bahrain, he added.
Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of the 5th fleet, remarked, “this visit highlights the importance of the US 5th Fleets decades-long strategic relationship with Bahrain and expanding partnership with Israel following the recent alignment of Israel to US Central Command.”
We are always at our best when we work together with our international partners, the commander added.
