Israel should build alliances: Official
Israel should prepare for a new regional security architecture by building a broader alliance stretching from India to the US through West Asia and Europe, a top Israeli defence official said on Wednesday.
Addressing the Herzliya Conference at Reichman University in Tel Aviv, Israel’s Ministry of Defence (IMOD) Director General Amir Baram also called for a new US-Israel security Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) built on “hard interests and shared values”.
“The war has sharpened, for every actor in the region, the price of Iran’s military buildup. It has created a shared interest in forging a broader alliance, from India through the UAE to Greece and Cyprus,” he said.
Israel should pursue a tailored force build-up, a broader alliance stretching from India through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Greece and Cyprus, and a new US-Israel security MoU, Baram said. The proposed broader alliance also broadly overlaps with the envisioned India-West Asia-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in 2023, aimed at enhancing connectivity among India, the Gulf, Europe and the US.
Warning against developments that could strengthen Iran’s military capabilities, he said, “The agreements now taking shape around the world, which could channel hundreds of billions of dollars into Iran, could dramatically accelerate its military buildup.”
The MoU signed between the US and Iran recently calls for the release of the Islamic Republic’s frozen money in billions, along with a reconstruction plan running into hundreds of billions of US dollars.
“The State of Israel must prepare through tailored force buildup and advance a new regional architecture, first and foremost with our strategic ally, the United States, and with others,” Baram stressed.
Commenting on Israel-US ties and the security MoU under negotiation, Baram said the difference between the two countries “is not in how we understand the threat, but in our priorities”.
“For us, Iran is an existential threat; for the United States, it is a chronic regional challenge, while China and the Indo-Pacific theatre remain the core concern,” he said, adding, “We think Tehran, they think Taiwan.”
“From the Pentagon’s perspective, with American munitions stretched between supporting current wars and preparing for a potential confrontation in the Taiwan Strait, a prolonged war in the Middle East runs counter to America’s global posture.
“At the same time... if there is one thing Americans hate more than this war that has dragged on for them, it is losing a campaign they have already won,” Baram said. The IMOD DG emphasised that Israel’s relationship with the US cannot just be based on shared values alone but needs to rest on hard interests. “As the United States operates under an ‘America First’ approach, our partnership cannot rest on shared values alone. It must also rest on hard interests: a strong, independent, and proactive Israel that stabilises the West Asia is the very asset that allows the United States to redirect resources toward Asia,” he said.
Baram asserted that the next Israel-US security MoU should generate long-term security, economic and strategic benefits for both countries.
Referring to the Gulf and the new space of alliances, Baram said Israel’s strengths in technology, proven operational experience, and defence innovation, combined with the Gulf’s financial power, could enable a new security and economic front. “Expanding our strategic partnerships is not a substitute for our partnership with the United States, but it will allow Israel to broaden its room to manoeuvre and its standing on the international stage, and will allow us to diversify our strategic footing,” he said.
