Israel hints at its readiness for a future joint missile defense with the Gulf states, which share their concerns about Iran
A senior Israeli official said on Tuesday that Israel may be ready for future missile defense cooperation with Gulf Arab states that share its concerns about Iran.
However, the official, Moshe Patil, head of the Israeli missile defense organization affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, said that the time is not yet ripe to follow up on any of these agreements and that Washington’s approval will be required as long as the development or financing of Israeli systems is done with American technology.
In response to a question during a conference call with journalists whether any of the systems might be introduced to Israel’s new partners in the Gulf or concurrently with similar systems deployed there, Patel said, “These are things that could happen, perhaps in the future”.
“From an engineering point of view, of course there are many advantages, information that can be shared, such as sensors that can be deployed in both countries because we have the same enemies”.
The press conference has been called to announce what Patil said is a successful test of an Israeli multi-level missile defense system that can hit targets flying at various altitudes such as cruise missiles or ballistic missiles.
Fears about Iran were the driving force behind the September 15 deal brokered by the United States to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia encouraged rapprochement while not establishing bilateral relations with Israel at this time.
With US support, Israel has developed over the past ten years a multi-layered air shield consisting of the Arrow missile that intercepts ballistic missiles, the David Sling missile defense system for medium-altitude missiles and the Iron Dome that shoot down short-range missiles and mortars.
Prior to the negotiations that led to the normalization of relations with the UAE and Bahrain, a senior Israeli official told Reuters that there would be no coordination with the Gulf states regarding missile defense.
