Gantz: Israel Building Regional Air Defense Alliance Under U.S.

Israel is building a “Middle East Air Defense Alliance” under the leadership of the United States, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday, adding that the apparatus has already foiled attempted Iranian attacks.

Gantz started his briefing with the following remarks:

“The State of Israel faces significant strategic challenges. From an operational standpoint and in terms of urgency, the biggest challenge that we face is the Iranian threat.

“In recent months, we have seen two significant achievements in bringing the international community together to face the Iranian threat. The first achievement is in keeping the IRGC on the FTO list of terror organizations. The second is the IAEA’s condemnation of Iran regarding its noncompliance with investigations and inspections.

“These issues demonstrate once again that Iran is not a partner, and in order to achieve a nuclear agreement that will push Iran back from its ambitions, the entire world, led by our friend the United States, must employ political, economic and military pressure.

“As such, over the past year I have been leading an extensive program together with my partners at the Pentagon and in the U.S. administration that will strengthen the cooperation between Israel and countries in the region. I hope that we will take another step forward in this aspect during President Biden’s important visit.

“The first element of this vision is the ‘MEAD’ alliance that we are building – the ‘Middle East Air Defense Alliance’ – in the face of Iran’s attempts to attack the region’s countries using rockets, cruise missiles and UAVs. This program is already operative and has already enabled the successful interception of Iranian attempts to attack Israel and other countries.

“We are also currently dealing with Iran’s attempts to carry out attacks on Israelis abroad, particularly those located in Turkey. I call on Israeli citizens to follow the defense establishment’s instructions.

“At the same time, I have instructed the defense establishment to prepare for a powerful response in the event that any such threat materializes. We have a variety of options at our disposal – and any harm to Israeli citizens will lead us to employ these means.

“Under the leadership of President Herzog, the Prime Minister and the foreign minister, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and security forces, we are strengthening our ties with Turkey. This is an opportunity to express our appreciation to our Turkish colleagues, and to additional security organizations around the world who work with us to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel.”