The deployment of military equipment to Tel Aviv's West Asian allies comes amid a pending bill in the US Congress that would allow the Pentagon to work on air defense systems between Israel and its regional allies
By News Desk - June 11 2022
Israel has deployed radar systems in multiple countries throughout West Asia, including the UAE and Bahrain, as part of its buildup of hostilities against Iran, according to an Israeli Channel 12 News report from 9 June.
“It is a defense-security cooperation agreement between Israel and several Arab countries against threats from Iran,” Channel 12 News reported. “Under the emerging agreement, the United States will work on cooperation between Israel and six Persian Gulf states, in addition to Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq. It is a joint proposal between the Democratic and Republican parties and will be tabled on Thursday in the House of Representatives.”
The reports of military radar systems deployment, which involves the US, was announced by Channel 12 on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made a surprise visit to Abu Dhabi.
Bennett held a “special” meeting with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MbZ) and other senior Emirati officials. The talks reportedly revolved around “a set of regional issues,” including Iran.
The Israeli media report also comes as the US Congress works on a bipartisan bill that would authorize the Pentagon to help Israel and its West Asian allies install air defense systems in order to “counter the threats from Iran,” as reported by Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Israel has been increasing its hostilities against Iran, including recent military drillsthat simulated large scale attacks against the Islamic Republic. The drills were joint exercises with US armed forces.
Following a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Bennett and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi, the office of the Israeli premier released a statement threatening a pre-emptive attack on Iran:
“Bennett made it clear that while Israel prefers diplomacy in order to deny Iran the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, it reserves the right to self-defense and to take action against Iran in order to block its nuclear program.”
In turn, Iran slammed the IAEA as a ‘politically compromised’ organization, accusing it of being hijacked and exploited by Israel.
Tel Aviv has a semi-secret arsenal of several hundred nuclear weapons, despite not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and not being subject to IAEA inspections.
The chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami blamed Israel for the assassination of IRGC colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei.
“Khodaei was killed by the most vicious people, the Zionists, and God willing, we will take revenge for [his assassination],” Salami said.
On 7 June, the commander of Iran’s ground force army, Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, warned that Tehran will “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground” if Israel makes another aggressive move on the Islamic Republic.
The UAE and Bahrain comprised seven percent of Israel’s arms exports in 2021.