Congressional Proposal for Mideast Defense Alliance Against Iran—Israel and Iraq Included

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM – A bill to be introduced in Congress with Biden administration backing envisages a Mideast defensive alliance to counter Iran that would include Israel and several Arab states with which it does not have diplomatic relations, according to media reports Thursday night.

The bipartisan legislative effort, known as the DEFEND Act, would see Israel collaborate Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar — as well as Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Bahrain.

Members of the Abraham Accords Caucus in the House and Senate are sponsoring it as “a joint effort by Congress to develop a strategy for Abraham Accords and other countries to combat Iranian aggression threatening peace and security in the Middle East.”

The reported inclusion of Iraq in the plan was especially eye-opening, given the fact that the country’s parliament recently passed legislation criminalizing normalization of ties and any relations, including business ties, with Israel, and the death penalty for violators.