Saudi Arabia-Iran dispute unlikely to take Israel to war
METULA: A rare interview given by a top Israeli general to a Saudi-owned news site has raised speculation of joint military action against Iran and its allies, but analysts say it appears unlikely. Though Saudi Arabia and Israel have no official diplomatic ties, they share a common enemy in Tehran, with both seeking to limit the Islamic republic’s expanding influence in the Middle East. Tensions between the Saudis and Iran have intensified in recent weeks, with Riyadh-backed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stepping down over what he called Iran’s grip on his country.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which is dominant in Lebanon, is also a great enemy of Israel-with which it fought a war in 2006. Hezbollah and Iran have accused Saudi Arabia of pressing Israel to launch attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia has also accused Iran of meddling in Yemen by supporting Huthi rebels against the Riyadh-backed government.
In this context, comments by Israel’s military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot to Elaph, a British-based news website founded by a Saudi businessman, caused a stir on Thursday. Eisenkot said Israel and Saudi were in “total agreement” that Iran was the greatest threat to the Middle East, adding that the Jewish state was “ready to exchange experience with the moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to face Iran.” Eisenkot pointed out that while Saudi Arabia and Israel had no formal relations, the two states had never directly been to war.
Quiet could shatter
Speculation about a formal Israeli-Saudi alliance has been fuelled by the election of US President Donald Trump, a vociferous critic of Iran. Eisenkot said Trump’s victory had created an opportunity for a “new international alliance in the region and a major strategic plan to stop the Iranian threat.” The rise to power of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has also led to a more forthright policy, as he looks to militarily confront what he sees as Iranian influence across the region, including in Yemen.
Trump’s first foreign trip took in Riyadh and Israel and his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has reportedly formed a bond with Prince Mohammed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also spoken repeatedly and with pride about growing rapprochement with “moderate Arab states” without naming them, although he is assumed to be referring to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies. Israel has been alarmed by Iran’s nuclear activities and the danger that Tehran, militarily engaged in Syria, will establish a new front near Israeli borders.
The Jewish state closely monitors the demarcation lines with Syria and Lebanon, beyond which Hezbollah is located. On Thursday, from a vantage point near Metula, the northernmost Israeli town flanked by Lebanon on three sides, an Israeli tank’s cannon tracked to and fro. “Hezbollah is here, we see it and its activities day and night,” Lieutenant Colonel Elad Efrati, who commands a battalion guarding the northernmost 25 kilometers of the frontier said. “The relative quiet here is deceptive. On the other side Hezbollah and the Lebanese army are gathering information on our forces non-stop.” “This relative quiet could shatter in an instant.” — AFP