Despite recent tensions between Israel and the Arab world (Jordan in particular) due to the ongoing war in Gaza and Jordan's repeated airlifts of humanitarian aid to the Strip, it appears that long-time efforts to forge covert military ties between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom paid off in a big way last night.
According to a MAKO report quoting the Wall Street Journal, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited Washington, D.C. in July, 2022 for secretive talks with President Biden. Gantz presented a series of air defense treaties with signees of the Abraham Accords as well as Arab states with no diplomatic ties to Israel.
The report states that some of these agreements were intended to build a regional air defense alliance and was the reason for head of CENTCOM General Michael Kurilla's visit to the region. During that visit, the general is said to have carried out the very complex coordination between the various countries that eventually led to last night's series of events.
The report further states that under this agreement, Israel notified its neighbors of the upcoming strike and that despite Iranian threats to "punish" any country that cooperated with the Jewish State, Jordanian troops may have even shot down a number of "flying objects" last night.
American jets and air defense systems also participated in the operation, shooting down missiles and enemy drones hundreds of kilometers from Israeli territory. American media outlets reported that US troops shot down more than a third of Iranian drones headed for Israel.
