It is time for Israel and the United States to help turn the Gulf’s growing willingness to confront Iran into a formal regional defense alliance.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Bahrain and Kuwait secretly sent fighter jets earlier this month to strike Iranian drone and missile facilities. The United Arab Emirates reportedly supplied intelligence and defensive air cover. Kuwait has denied taking part; Bahrain has stayed silent.
Even with those caveats, the report describes a Middle East that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago. Gulf states that once waited for Washington to answer every Iranian provocation now appear willing to hit Iran themselves.
Saudi Arabia is also back in direct conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy,” invoking what he called “an eye for an eye.”
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, threatened further attacks. The Saudi-led coalition answered that it would respond “firmly.”
Iranian attacks reshape regional alliances
Missiles, aircraft, intelligence, and air defenses are being used by Arab governments that have concluded Iran poses a direct threat to them.
For decades, the Arab-Israeli conflict shaped the region’s alliances and public language. Tehran exploited that reality, describing its armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, and Yemen as “resistance.”
That argument is harder to sell when Iranian missiles are aimed at Bahrain and Kuwait, and Houthi attacks threaten Saudi oil facilities and Red Sea shipping. US Central Command said in June that Iran had fired ballistic missiles toward both Kuwait and Bahrain. American and Bahraini forces intercepted several of them.
The biggest change is that Arab governments are acting for themselves.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa are making decisions based on their own security, economies, and plans for the future.
They are not waiting for Israel to design their strategy. In May, MBS condemned Iranian attacks on the UAE and affirmed Saudi “support for the UAE in its defense of its security and stability.”
Israel should welcome this without treating the Gulf states as supporting actors in an Israeli drama.
Israel still has much to offer: experience against Iranian missiles and drones, intelligence reach, cyber capabilities, and layered air defense. The Gulf states bring geography, bases, airspace, money, and political influence. The US remains the only country able to connect those assets across the region.
Some of that work is already happening. On July 1, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper met in Bahrain with senior military officials from 12 regional countries to discuss defense cooperation. Israel was absent from the official list.
That tells us how far Arab military coordination has moved and how much political work remains.
Regional allies need shared defenses against Iran
The next step should be practical. The US, Israel, and willing Arab states should build shared early-warning systems, coordinate missile and drone defenses, protect shipping routes, and agree in advance how to respond when Iran or one of its proxies attacks a member country.
Regular exercises and clear chains of command would prevent the confusion that so often marks the first hours of a crisis. Iran has long counted on hesitation, deniability, and disagreement among its enemies.
It should have to assume that an attack on one country will bring a coordinated answer from several.
Saudi-Israeli normalization belongs in this discussion. It would give public and political form to security contacts that have developed quietly and make it easier for officers, intelligence agencies, and political leaders to plan together before the next emergency.
The obstacles are serious. Kuwait has denied involvement in the reported strikes. Bahrain has not acknowledged them.
Oman and Qatar still keep channels open to Tehran. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pursued different policies in Yemen; and Arab opinion remains deeply affected by the Palestinian issue.
Israel must therefore avoid boasting. A regional alliance will survive only if every country has a real voice and can explain the arrangement to its own public.
For years, Arab states opposed Israel publicly, feared Iran privately, and turned to Washington when danger came. That pattern is breaking down.
Arab governments are now acting for themselves. Israel and the US should help them turn that action into a permanent regional defense system before the next attack forces everyone to improvise again.
Source:
www.jpost.com
