Israel Says Saudi Arabia Guarantees Freedom of Passage in Tiran Straits

Israel Says Saudi Arabia Guarantees Freedom of Passage in Tiran Straits
Wed Apr 13, 2016 15:56:49

Israel’s defense minister says Saudi Arabia has given Israel written assurances the kingdom will guarantee Israel freedom of passage in the Tiran Straits.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as Egypt readies to hand over control of two islands in the straits to the kingdom, Fox News reported.

Moshe Yaalon says an agreement was reached by which Saudi Arabia will continue to fulfill Egypt’s commitment to free passage.

Fox News claimed that Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official relations, but Al-Alam News Network revealed that Israel and Saudi Arabia signed a military contract over the Tiran Island in the Red Sea.

According to Al-Alam News Network, an Israeli military source close to the leftist disclosed that the Saudi and Israeli military cooperation agreement signed with the centrality of Tiran Island.

According to Al-Alam News Network, the agreement includes monitoring and control of the Strait of Bab el-Mandab, Gulf of Aden, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea littoral states.

According to documents from the military source, Tiran Island will be used as the headquarter of a joint operation between Tel Aviv and Riyadh in the Red Sea.

Last year, a number of Saudi Arabia officers attended training course at the naval base Polonium in the port of Haifa, the military source disclosed.

The two islands control entry to ports in Israel and Jordan. Access to the waterway was a factor in past wars.

Israel captured them in the 1967 Mideast war but returned them to Egypt after the two nations signed a peace treaty in 1979.

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