Israel joins Saudi Arabia, Oman in US-led naval exercise

Israel will take part in a U.S.-led naval exercise alongside Saudi Arabia and Oman despite its lack of relations with these two Gulf states, Reuters reported.

The International Maritime Exercise (IMX) 2022 will bring together the navies of 60 countries in the region to rehearse joint operations.

The exercise follows unusually high tensions in the Gulf area due to missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates perpetrated by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, who are allied with Iran.

“Here in the region we have had nothing but positive results in terms of planning efforts,” said a U.S. spokesperson for the IMX, according to Reuters.

While Israel has no diplomatic ties to Saudi Arabia or Oman, it normalized relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain in 2020. Israel and the Gulf countries share concerns about Iran.

Israel held a joint naval drill with the UAE and Bahrain in November, but this is the first time Israel has participated in an IMX exercise.

Kuwait and Qatar, two more Gulf countries that do not have formal relations with Israel, did not participate.