Report: Saudis negotiating purchase of Israeli arms

The Saudi kingdom is considering purchasing Israeli arms, including the Iron Dome missile defense system.

By Margot Dudkevitch

There is a secret alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia aimed at restraining Iran’s expansion in the region, the Swiss newspaper Basler Zeitung reported earlier this month.

While there are no diplomatic ties between the two countries, military cooperation does exist, with both countries sharing a common goal, which is to curb Iran’s efforts to undermine the stability in the region.

The Iranian threat has pushed Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to seek secret cooperation with the Jewish state. Ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel have warmed recently, and there have been reports of under-the-table collaboration between the two countries, especially on military and intelligence issues.

Quoting unidentified sources in Riyadh, the report said officials in Saudi Arabia are considering purchasing Israel’s advanced Iron Dome missile defense system as well as the Trophy Active Protection System developed by Rafael and Israel Aerospace.

While Riyadh rejects any official normalization of ties with Israel as long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unresolved, there have been a number of meetings between Israeli officials and prominent Saudi officials in public.

Last October two former intelligence heads of the two countries participated in a symposium in New York.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned Saudi Arabia for its reported covert relations with Israel