JERUSALEM: Israel’s military chief of staff said in an interview on Thursday that his country was prepared to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to face Iran’s plans “to control the Middle East.”

His comments were the latest sign that behind-the-scenes links between Israel and Gulf countries may be occurring due to Iran, their shared enemy, even though they do not have formal diplomatic ties.

“We are ready to exchange experience with the moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to face Iran,” Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot was quoted as saying by Elaph, a news website run by a Saudi businessman.

Asked whether any information had been shared recently with Saudi Arabia, he said “we are ready to share information if necessary. There are many common interests between us and them.” Israel’s army confirmed the contents of the rare interview with Arabic-language media.

According to Israel’s army, it was the first interview of its kind since 2005.

Saudi Arabia has long been at loggerheads with Iran but friction has spiralled recently.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017