Israel, regional allies reportedly working on air defense deal
A number of states in the region are looking to bolster their ties with Israel amid threats from Iran
Israel and its neighboring allies in the Middle East are reportedly working towards the creation of a joint defense agreement in order to counter aerial threats posed by nearby Iran.
The states also developed joint systems which work to detect threats like missiles and drones, The Times of Israel reported, citing an off-record briefing with officials from Israel’s air force.
News of this development arrives as a number of countries in the Middle East look to bolster their ties with Israel in the face of regional security threats posed by Iran.
On Sunday and Monday, foreign ministers from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, and Bahrain - as well as the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - traveled to Israel’s south to participate in a historic diplomatic conference known as the Negev Summit.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid later announced on Monday that the summit would be held regularly.
He said that the efforts to build a “new regional architecture” at the forum deter “our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies.”
Since the series of normalization agreements brought forth by the US-brokered Abraham Accords, a number of states have also established partnerships with Israel in areas like security - Morocco signed a defense memorandum with the country in November last year.