Israel, Arabs To Beef Up Cooperation Against Iran as U.S. Makes Priority of Appeasing Iran
The foreign ministers of countries under Iran’s guns seemed more intent on cooperation among themselves than on backing America’s pursuit of reviving a failed nuclear deal.
Beefed up military and intelligence cooperation among regional allies to confront Iran is the most positive outcome of the Negev summit — even as America inexplicably remains determined to appease the mullahs.
Foreign ministers of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Egypt today ended a summit hastily organized by Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, at the Negev town of Sde Boker. They decided to boost security cooperation and vowed to meet periodically in their various capitals.
“This new architecture, the shared capabilities we are building, intimidates and deters our common enemies — first and foremost Iran and its proxies,” Mr. Lapid said in his concluding remarks. Those common enemies, he added, now “certainly have something to fear.”
Bahrain’s foreign minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, added that the need for cooperation with Israel “is made more urgent by recent developments such as the Houthi terrorist militia’s continued attacks on civilian energy infrastructure,” and “the ongoing threat from terrorist organizations such as Hizbollah and other proxy groups.”
The American guest at the summit, Secretary of State Blinken, tried to assure the budding regional alliance that the best way to confront Iran is a return to the 2015 nuclear deal — even at the risk of removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from America’s list of terror organizations.
Yet, the foreign ministers of countries under Iran’s guns seemed more intent on cooperation among themselves than on backing America’s pursuit of reviving a failed nuclear deal. The Iranians insist on delisting the IRGC as precondition for renewing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
In the latest twist, America is reportedly floating the idea of delisting the organization but naming some of its bigwigs as terrorists. The designation, administration officials say, is merely “symbolic” as pressure will remain even without it.
“The IRGC will remain sanctioned under U.S. law and our perception of the IRGC will remain,” President Biden’s Iran envoy, Robert Malley, said over the weekend.
American law automatically sanctions designated entities, their assets in America are confiscated, and heavy penalties are levied on anyone assisting or doing business with them. Additionally, foreign governments are alerted and warned to avoid business with designated organizations.
In a joint statement over the weekend, Prime Minister Bennett and Mr. Lapid said “the attempt to delist the IRGC as a terrorist organization is an insult to the victims and would ignore documented reality supported by unequivocal evidence.”
Instead, Israel and its new partners seek new ways to confront the danger Iran poses to them.
The Negev summit came as Saudi Arabia and the UAE face increased missile and drone attacks on civilian centers and oil facilities from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. The group was removed from the terror list early in the Biden presidency.
One concrete result of the Negev summit was an Israeli initiative to create a “defensive envelope” in the Red Sea area. In a new joint project, Israel and the UAE are developing a laser-based system that would lower the cost for high-priced missile and drone defense batteries.
Currently, the Houthis and Iranians use relatively inexpensive missiles and drones, compared with defenses that cost much more to operate. According to Mr. Bennett, the laser-based defenses, which will take more than a year to develop, will completely reverse the cost equation, making the price of interception close to nothing.
More cooperation is expected in future regional gatherings, including in trade, agriculture, and tourism. The Abraham Accords mark a departure from past peace treaties between Israel and Egypt, as well as Jordan, widely recognized to be producing what is known as “cold peace.”
“Although Israel has been a part of this region for a really long time, we’ve not known each other,” said the UAE foreign minister, Abdallah Bin Zayed. “When I see 300,000 Israelis visiting the UAE in the last year and a half, and at the same time I see 2 million visitors visiting the Israeli pavilion in Expo in only six months, it says how curious and how much we want to know each other.”
New warmth between the peoples, he added, “goes against what happened yesterday.” He referred to the Sunday murder of two Israeli border guards who were on leave at the city of Hadera when two Israeli Arabs, who were inspired by ISIS, opened fire.
The shooting followed an earlier deadly attack by ISIS sympathizers at the city of BeerSheba. Today Mr. Blinken joined the Arab foreign ministers in condemning the terrorists attacks — even as upon arrival he mostly warned against “settler violence,” ignoring Arab violence.
Mr. Blinken emerged from the Negev as out of tune with the gathering’s participants as he was when he came in. According to one Israeli reporter, Barak Ravid, a Washington official said that had the State Department tried to gather the summit, it would have taken six months to organize, and in the end would probably have never materialized. Mr. Lapid organized it successfully in five days.
And:
Nides is a dangerous ambassador executing an anti-Semitic program of a president who is an existential threat to Israel:
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