A senior US administration official said Thursday that there was not yet a framework for a unified Middle East air and missile defense system, but the US believes a multilateral regional approach to security is likely.
President Joe Biden raised the matter earlier this month during a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he held a summit with leaders of nine Arab states following a visit to Israel, but no public Arab support for a regional security pivot. left.
“It’s just an idea, there’s no framework for it … but it was important for the president to raise the issue of better regional integrated air and missile defense,” said the administration official, who declined to be named.
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“We think there is great promise here in having a more networked, more integrated, more cooperative approach to air missile defense, especially given Iran’s growing threat of ballistic missiles.”
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are disappointed by US terms on arms sales. The two countries were also angered by their exclusion from indirect US-Iran talks over the resumption of the 2015 nuclear deal for not addressing Iran’s missile program and regional behavior.
Israel, which shares its concerns over Iran, encouraged Biden’s visit to Jeddah, hoping it would follow Saudi Arabia and Israel as part of a broader Arab rapprochement after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain build ties with Israel. The beach will promote warmth.
During the visit, Saudi Arabia announced that it would open its airspace to all air carriers, paving the way for more flights to and from Israel. The Saudi foreign minister later said it was not a harbinger of further steps and that he was not aware of any discussions on the Gulf-Israeli defense alliance.
Iran accused Washington of using “iranophobia” to create regional tensions during Biden’s visit.
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