In a historic event, Saudi Arabia joined forces with its former adversary, Iran, for a war game hosted in the Gulf of Oman. The development comes more than a year after the two bitter adversaries agreed to a ‘detente’ after decades of hostility.

The spokesperson of the Saudi defense ministry confirmed his country’s participation in the war games on October 23. “The Royal Saudi Naval Forces had recently concluded a joint naval exercise with the Iranian Naval Forces alongside other countries in the Sea of Oman,” Brigadier General Turki al-Malki told the press.

Earlier, the official Iranian news agency ISNA quoted the commander of Iran’s navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, as saying: “Saudi Arabia has asked that we organize joint exercises in the Red Sea.” However, he said no other exercises were being considered at this point.

The reports and statements from officials did not divulge much information about the nature of the drills and what systems were deployed by either side. 

These rare military drills come from Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who traveled to Riyadh earlier this month and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which indicated an improvement in ties between the two oil-producing nations. He was welcomed in Riyadh by Crown Prince Salman and his Saudi counterpart.

More importantly, the war games came over a year after China brokered peace between the two regional powerhouses, ending several years of confrontation.

Saudi Arabia and Iran severed diplomatic ties in 2016 after the Saudi Kingdom executed an influential Shia cleric who was a critic of the kingdom. The two states announced a resumption of diplomatic ties only in April 2024 and have since been engaging to stabilize relations.

The deepening cooperation and military drills have been hailed as historic because the two states support opposing sides in conflict-torn Yemen. While the coalition of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) backs the Yemen government, Iran arms and supports the Houthi rebels in the country. In fact, the Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel.

Experts have surmised that Saudi Arabia appears to be proceeding with caution in a bid to distance itself from the regional conflict involving Iran and its proxies on one side and Israel and the US on the other.

In addition to strengthening cooperation with Tehran, the Saudi kingdom has been mulling a normalization of ties with Israel for over a year.

Saudi Arabia’s moves are being watched as Israel is now poised to launch a missile strike on Iran in response to the massive missile ballistic missile strike launched by Tehran on Israeli territory earlier this month.

It is pertinent to note that when Iran launched a similar air strike on Israel in April this year, Saudi Arabia assisted Israel in repelling Iran’s initial attack.

However, as per the latest reports, it has closed its airspace to Israel’s retaliation. The move coincides with Iran’s warning to Saudi Arabia that it cannot ensure the safety of Saudi oil infrastructure if Israel follows through on its plan to attack Iranian oil installations.

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While these reports could not be independently verified, Saudi Arabia’s participation in military drills alongside Iran is indicative of a warming of ties. Experts have noted that strengthening ties between Iran and the Gulf Arabs at a time when the region is up in flames is due to the US’s inability to intervene and de-escalate the situation.

Several policy analysts and military experts have observed that since the Gulf Arab countries have been repeatedly attacked by groups with ties to Iran, they have become doubtful that the US will defend them in the event of an Iranian strike. For instance, despite accusing Iran-backed militia of attacking Saudi Arabia in the past, Washington did not intervene.

As tensions rise in the region, the Gulf Arab countries are walking a diplomatic tightrope, engaging with Iran and the United States to diffuse the tensions. Saudi Arabia’s drills with Iran came after Iran conducted military drills with India, a country that has very close ties with Israel. 

Iran-India Drills Came During Attack On Israel

Earlier this month, the Indian Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Vessel, the amphibious cruiser INS Shardul, and the Indian Navy’s INS Tir arrived at the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas to perform a joint naval exercise in the Persian Gulf.

The drill took place as Iran fired a volley of over 200 missiles at Israel on October 1-2. Most of the missiles were shot down or failed to reach their targets, intensifying a crisis in the Middle East that now hinges on Israel’s response, which is expected to be a deadly one.

As previously reported, this was the first visit of the Indian Navy’s training squadron to Iran. Earlier in 2024, Iranian training ships Bushehr and Tonb made a port call in Mumbai, and in February, Iran’s warship Dena participated in the Milan-24 naval exercises hosted by India in Visakhapatnam.

As the two sides commenced their oddly-timed military drills, analysts said it was demonstrative of the pragmatism in India’s foreign policy: a balancing act between strategic partnerships and global diplomacy in troubled times. India maintains positive relations with both nations involved in the latest conflict.

In 2023, India and Israel signed a bilateral deal to deploy 100,000 Indian workers to the Jewish nation to address the war shortage caused by the conflict with Hamas. At the same time, New Delhi has also made investments in Iran’s Chahbahar port and has a close relationship with the West Asian state. Following years of discussions, a long-term agreement to develop Chabahar Port was reached in May 2024.

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