Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the pact “has already thwarted Iranian attempts to challenge Israel and other countries in the Middle East.”
By United with Israel Staff
On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry of Iran claimed a budding defense pact between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors is ratcheting up tensions in the region.
The Middle East Air Defense (MEAD) pact is designed to help regional allies coordinate their air defense systems in the face of the mounting threat of Iranian drones and missiles, which increasingly destabilize the Middle East.
According to an Iranian minister named Nasser Kanaani quoted by Reuters, “The entry of foreigners in the region… will not create security and stability but is itself the main cause of tension and regional rift.”
According to the United States, Iran remains the world’s top state-sponsor of terror, funding, arming, and training terror proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Israel has also produced credible evidence indicating Iran seeks nuclear weapons, a claim that continues to be borne out by the country’s enrichment of uranium at levels far higher than is necessary for civil applications, such as energy production.
Iran issued its statement on MEAD in the run-up to U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East this week. Biden is slated to land in Israel on Wednesday.
According to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, MEAD is “already in action” and “has already thwarted Iranian attempts to challenge Israel and other countries in the Middle East.”
Speculation is mounting that Saudi Arabia will announce further diplomatic steps with Israel during Biden’s visit.
In 2020, following normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries, the concept for the air defense coalition began to gain steam, sparked in part by Iran’s neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
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