Iran’s navy commander said his country and Saudi Arabia, as well as three other Gulf states, plan to form a naval alliance that will also include India and Pakistan, Iranian media reported on Saturday.
“The countries of the region have today realized that only cooperation with each other brings security to the area,” Iran’s navy commander Shahram Irani was quoted as saying.
He did not elaborate on the shape of the alliance that he said would be formed soon.
Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Gulf Arab states.
Saudi Arabia and Iran ended hostility
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran ended seven years of hostility under a China-mediated deal, stressing the need for regional stability and economic cooperation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meets with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Cape Town, South Africa, June 2, 2023. (credit: IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY)/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Naval commander Irani said the states that will take part in the alliance also include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Pakistan, and India.
Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iran has frustrated Israel’s efforts to isolate Iran diplomatically.
The UAE, which was the first Gulf Arab country to sign a normalization agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year.
Bahrain and Morocco later joined the UAE in establishing ties with Israel.
This past week, the United Arab Emirates announced that it withdrew from a US-led Middle East maritime security coalition two months ago.
The Combined Maritime Forces is a 34-nation task force working on security, counter-terrorism and counter-piracy in the Red Sea and Gulf areas, which contain some of the world’s most important shipping routes. It is headquartered in Bahrain alongside the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Central Command.
“As a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners, two months ago, the UAE withdrew its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by state news agency WAM.
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