Biden to discuss Iran’s aerial defense might in tour of Saudi kingdom, Israel

Iranian air defense might as well as its advanced missile and drone capabilities will be among the top issues of discussion on the agenda of US President Joe Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime, US-based media have reported citing officials and analysts.

Urging the Saudi regime to increase its oil production as well as issues surrounding discussions aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran – which Washington unilaterally abandoned under the former Trump administration – will also be on the agenda of Biden’s tour of the region, government-financed Star & Stripes military news outlet reported Friday, citing local “experts.”

According to the report, Biden further intends to discuss “other important security issues” during his controversial tour of the region, including what it referred to as “maritime security” matters in the Middle East that will need to be addressed between Persian Gulf kingdoms and the Israeli regime.

The US president will also “discuss greater collaboration in the Middle East on air defense,” the report added, citing remarks Thursday’s remarks by White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby during a press briefing.

Biden’s trip, according to Kirby, will begin later this week with stops in occupied Palestine and Saudi Arabia and will include talks on how the US can help integrate the air defenses of Middle Eastern countries in collaboration with the Israeli regime following the normalization of ties with Tel Aviv by a few despotic Persian Gulf Arab regimes.

The development came as Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized on Saturday that increased US military presence in the West Asia region will only foment insecurity in the region and help further spread terrorist activities.

Iran: Increased US presence only foments insecurity in West Asia region, spreads terrorism

Iran says increased US presence in the West Asia region will only foment insecurity and help spread terrorism.

Nasser Kan’ani made the remarks at a press briefing while reacting to a reported plan by the US and the Israeli regime to build a security alliance with some regional Arab states that would connect their air defense systems to allegedly fight off what they call Iranian drones and missile attacks in West Asia.

“Any measure to pave the way for the increased presence and role of the United States in regional security mechanism will have no other outcome but insecurity, instability, and spread of terrorism across the region,” the Iranian spokesman said.

The report further cites “experts” as emphasizing that such efforts “would require Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Persian Gulf nations to work together after decades of mistrust,” without elaborating.

It also cites analysts from Washington-based, government-sponsored think tanks as claiming that Iran’s robust drone and missile systems have “forced” the Saudi regime and its oil-rich Persian Gulf allies to bolster their air defense systems in cooperation with the Israeli regime.

Pointing to a Wall Street Journal report last month, it further claimed that some Arab leaders in the region “want access to Israel’s advanced military technology and experience with anti-air systems such as Iron Dome.”

According to the daily, former US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie “attended a secret meeting with Israeli and Arab military officials about possible air defense coordination in March.”

The report, however, goes on to emphasize that Iran’s drone capabilities have developed to the point where the US is “operating without complete air superiority” for the first time since the Korean War, citing remarks last spring by McKenzie during congressional testimony.

Tehran, meanwhile, has repeatedly made clear that its home-grown military capabilities remain defensive and deterrent in nature and are intended to keep foreign intruders from destabilizing the region. It has also urged Persian Gulf states to quit relying on foreign powers for their security and that regional security can only be achieved by neighboring states.

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Current CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla further declared during congressional testimony in February that the Israeli regime and “others in the region” are cooperating on integrated air and missile defense, without elaborating, according to the report.

Such military collaborations, if true, have been proven ineffective as the Saudis have suffered repeated and enormous blows inflicted by Yemeni missiles and drone strikes in response to their brutal military aggression against the neighboring state before they were forced to agree to a ceasefire.

The kingdom of United Arab Emirates (UAE), which joined the Saudi war of aggression against Yemen, has also suffered major strikes by Yemeni missiles and drones despite its reported collaboration with the Israeli regime on the deployment of more effective air defense systems.

UAE, along with other tiny Persian Gulf kingdoms of Bahrain and Oman as well as African Arab states of Sudan and Morocco were pressured by Washington to sign agreements to normalize relations with the occupying Israeli regime during the administration of former US president Donald Trump. Little gain has been reported as the result of the agreements, which were merely meant to save the Tel Aviv regime from remaining as an outcast throughout the Muslim world.

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