Iranian Drones Posing Threat To Israel Shot Down Over Iraq
Israeli forces say two UAVs launched from Iran were shot down in Iraq amid fears that the drones were intended to reach Israeli territory and explode.
Israeli forces say two UAVs launched from Iran were shot down in Iraq amid fears that the drones were intended to reach Israeli territory and explode.
It is not clear who shot down the drones. US forces in Iraq are equipped with air defense weapons, but there has been no confirmation that they engaged the drones
According to Arutz Sheva on Thursday, the Iranian drones were downed on Tuesday while reports by Iranian media say Israel is helping American forces to attack the Houthi rebels and militant organizations affiliated with Iran.
Israel’s Kan 11 News reported on Wednesday that the Israeli defense establishment is preparing for the possibility of a drone attack from Iran and believes that Iran will continue its attempts to carry out such an attack.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel targeted a Syrian army base near Damascus used by Iranian forces with surface-to-surface missiles fired from Golan Heights.
In early February, the Israel Air Force held a drill to simulate an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities with dozens of warplanes, as tensions remain high in the region.
The Israelis touted the participation of a US official as an observer as evidence of a shift in Washington’s approach to Tehran’s nuclear program as the Vienna talks to revive the deal seem to falter.
Abdullatif Al-Zayani, the Bahraini foreign minister, announced the plan during the visit to the kingdom Tuesday of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, which Al-Zayani said had included discussions of the "Iranian nuclear file and terrorism."
Bennett said he was seeking a “new regional architecture” with Arab Gulf states – referring principally to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, who in 2020 normalized relations with Israel – against "enemies who are fomenting chaos and terror."
Bennett portrayed his two-day trip largely as a common stance against Iran and its allies, including Yemen's Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis, whose battle in Yemen against Saudi- and UAE-led forces has spilled over this year into missiles fired at the UAE.
Bahraini opposition activists said Tuesday that at least four people had been arrested in protests against Bennett’s visit in several villages inhabited by Shia, who make up the majority in the country ruled by the Sunni Khalifa family. Bahrain, which crushed protests in 2011 with Saudi help, blames unrest on Tehran.
After meeting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bennett stressed the importance of a variety of links that have mushroomed between Israel and some Arab Gulf states since the 2020 ‘normalization.’ "We don't have enough trade, we don't have enough tourism - and that is what this visit is all about," Bennett said. "I'm going to be your ambassador there (in Israel). I want to 'sell Bahrain'.”
The two sides announced a research and development accord and that talks would continue on facilitating investment flows. Bahrain’s has severe fiscal problems with public debt running at around 130 percent of GDP. A bilateral security accord reached in February could give Bahrain access to controversial Israeli technology used to monitor dissidents.
Israel’s Growing Military Role
The proposed visit to Israel by Crown Prince Salman will irk the Palestinians, who see ‘normalization’ as a betrayal of their aspiration for a state. Qatar this month reiterated its support for a Palestinian state as a precondition for ‘normalization,’ the stance agreed in the 2001 Saudi-drafted Arab Peace Initiative.
Bennett’s visit Tuesday to the Bahrain base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet highlighted Israel’s growing military role in the Persian Gulf. A US official said Tuesday the navy was considering adding unmanned Israeli boats to its joint regional operations and was also interested in Israeli-made drones.
Officials also said Israel would become the 29th country to post an attaché to the fleet's Manama headquarters. Meeting Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Brad Cooper Tuesday, Bennett said he expected "the cooperation among the region's countries and powerful ally the United States will keep getting closer.”
After the warm relationship between former Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and former US president Donald Trump, Israel’s relationship with the US has been strained by its leaders’ continued opposition to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which world powers including the US are trying to revive in talks with Iran in Vienna.
