An alliance forged in a short time, but which – all things considered – turned out to be a “formidable demonstration of collective defence”. As the Wall Street Journal defines the collaboration between Israel and Arab countries took place during the night between last Saturday and Sunday, when Iran decided to respond from its territory to the raid against its consulate in Damascus, launching waves of drones and missiles against the Jewish state. The alliance was the culmination of years of US efforts to break down political and technical barriers that hindered military cooperation between Israel and Sunni Arab governments in an effort to counter the shared Iranian threat.
But U.S.-led efforts to protect Israel in the days and hours before the Iranian attack had to overcome numerous obstacles, including Gulf countries' fears of being seen as Israel's allies at a time when relations are strained, to put it mildly, due to the war in Gaza.
US and Israeli forces have intercepted most of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched towards Israel. But they were able to do it, writes the WSJ, also because Arab countries have quietly relayed information about Tehran's attack plans, opened their airspace to warplanes, shared radar tracking information, and, as in the case of Jordan, lent a hand with their own fighter jets.
The US project, a Middle Eastern version of 'Nato'
The American project – a sort of Middle Eastern version of NATO, but less formal – to build an integrated air defense system for the region dates back decades. After years of false starts and minimal progress, the initiative gained momentum following the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration, which led to the establishment of official relations between Israel on one side and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on the other.
Two years later, the Pentagon moved Israel from the European Command to the Central Command, which includes the rest of the Middle East, a move that allowed for greater military cooperation with Arab governments under the aegis of the United States. “Israel's move to Centcom was a game-changer,” making it easier to share intelligence and provide early warning between countries, said Washington Institute analyst Dana Stroul.
In March 2022, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, then the top U.S. commander in the region, convened a secret meeting between senior military officials from Israel and Arab countries about Iran's growing missile and drone capabilities. The talks, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, brought Israeli and Arab officials around the table under US military auspices for the first time to discuss countering Iran.
The help of Arab countries to Tel Aviv
Two days before last Saturday's raid, Iranian authorities briefed their counterparts in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states on the timing of their large-scale attack on Israel so that those same states could safeguard their airspace. The information was relayed promptly to the United States, giving Washington and Tel Aviv information that proved crucial.
With an Iranian attack all but certain, the White House has ordered the Pentagon to reposition air and missile defense assets in the region and has taken the lead in coordinating defensive measures between Israel and Arab governments, according to a senior Israeli official. “The challenge was to bring all these countries around Israel” at a time when the Jewish state is isolated in the region – he added -. It was a diplomatic matter.” Arab countries offered their help because they saw the benefits of cooperating with the United States and Israel, as long as they kept a low profile, said Yasmine Farouk of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The countries of the Gulf – he explained – know that they do not yet have the same level of support that Israel receives from the United States and see what they have done as a way to obtain it in the future”.
It is not clear whether the conflict between Israel and Iran will further put a strain on the relatively new ties between Israel and some Arab states, highlights the NYT, according to which although the war in Gaza has cooled these relations, it seems that none of the Arab governments that have recently established ties with Israel is ready to abandon them entirely or, as in the case of Saudi Arabia, to exclude them permanently.
“Riyadh has admitted its involvement in the defense of Israel”
And Saudi Arabia itself would have admitted its involvement in the defense of Israel against the Iranian attack on Saturday evening. Jewish media cite a source from the Saudi royal family, according to whom Riyadh's forces participated in the operation thanks to which Iranian drones and missiles launched against Israel were intercepted. Operation which involved the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Jordan, while intelligence information on Tehran's plans would have arrived from the Emirates.
United Arab Emirates “did not participate in missile and drone interceptions”
The United Arab Emirates therefore did not participate in the interception of Iranian missiles and drones, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel. The same news was confirmed to Adnkronos by Emirati sources, according to whom Abu Dhabi has no desire to enter into conflict with the Iranians. According to the Israeli source, reports of widespread Arab participation in the defense of the Jewish state are exaggerated.
#Israel #Arab #countries #alliance #threat #Iran #happened #night #raid