In his first interview with a Saudi newspaper Israeli army chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said that his government is ready to exchange information and experience with Saudi Arabia and what he described as moderate Arab countries to confront Iran.
Eizenkot told the Saudi-owned Elaf newspaper that there is a “complete consensus” between Israel and Saudi Arabia on the issue of mutual arch-rival Iran and that Israel is ready to share intelligence with one of the world’s most powerful Muslim states.
Eizenkot who is the first senior Israeli military officer to be interviewed by a Saudi media outlet called Iran the “biggest threat to the region” and said that Israel and Riyadh are in complete agreement about Iran’s intentions to dominate the Middle East.
However Eizenkot said in the interview that Israel has no intention of initiating a conflict with “Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah” saying that “I am very happy for the calm on both sides of the border which lasted for 11 years.”
“With [US] President Donald Trump (in office) there is an opportunity for a new international coalition in the region” he was quoted as saying.
“We need to carry out a major and inclusive regional plan to stop the Iranian threat. We are ready to exchange experiences with moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence to confront Iran” he added.
When asked if information sharing was already underway with Saudi Arabia he responded that “We are ready to share information if necessary. There are many common interests between us and [Saudi Arabia].”
