Gantz heads back to Washington to meet Esper again

Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz took off for Washington on Wednesday to meet with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and other US security officials.

Gantz is expected to return from his trip on Friday. Wednesday’s trip comes one month after Gantz’s previous meeting with Esper, where he discussed Israel’s qualitative military edge ( QME), procurement, international policy regarding Iran, including halting Tehran’s military aspirations in the region, and IsraelUS security cooperation.

It is not clear what the conversation will be about this time around. Esper, however, addressed the recent agreements to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain on Tuesday, saying that they could help deter Iran.

The previous meeting with Esper arose as Israel was set to ask for compensation from

Washington should a sale of advanced F- 35 stealth fighters be made to the United Arab Emirates following normalization of ties. This meeting follows the finalization of the aforementioned agreement as well as the recent headway made in Bahrain within the past month.

“It is a great success by the president and his team in the White House,” Esper said on Tuesday in remarks at The Atlantic Council in Washington, adding that “we’ll see if more countries follow as well. We’re all hopeful, and everybody is trying to roll in that same direction.”

Esper said that the normalization agreements are essential for multiple reasons. “It’s the diplomatic opportunities it presents, it’s the security and it’s the economic [ opportunities].” He noted that Arab countries “see that there is great potential for economic growth if there is normalization.”