Israel is participating in US Gulf naval exercises with Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Israel is participating in US Gulf naval exercises with Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Israel is taking part in a major US-led naval exercise in the Middle East, for the first time publicly joining the two counties of Saudi Arabia and Oman, despite normalizing relations with some Gulf states. There are no diplomatic relations.
The International Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMX 22) involves about 60 countries and has escalated Gulf tensions following the missile strikes on the United Arab Emirates by Yemen's Iran-linked Houthi movement, which includes bases hosting US forces. Including a failed attack.
Israel normalized relations with the Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020, brought them together because of common concerns about Iran, and held a joint naval exercise with the two countries for the first time in November.
But this is the first time Israel has participated in an IMX exercise, and publicly with Saudi Arabia, with which it has no diplomatic relations.
According to the US Navy, Gulf neighbors Kuwait and Qatar, which also have no formal ties with Israel, did not attend.
Bahrain hosts some operations for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet Headquarters as well as the US Military Coordination Umbrella Organization for the Middle East (CENTCOM). Israel joined CENTCOM last year.
A U.S. Navy spokesman said Wednesday that the planners of the exercises were aware of the geopolitical perspectives of the participating countries, but that cooperation had been strong.
"Here in the region, we have found nothing but positive results in terms of planning efforts," he said.
The Israeli Defense Forces said Monday that some units would participate in the Red Sea exercise with the US Fifth Fleet.
"For the past few months, Israel has been conducting exercises not only with us but also with other partners in the region," Fifth Fleet spokesman Tim Hawkins told reporters Wednesday.
In its seventh year, IMX 22 launched on Monday with the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and will cover the Arabian Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and North Indian Ocean.
