Gulf states looking to buy Israel-developed defense systems in massive deal

October 14, 2015

The Jerusalem Post:

Bahrain and several other Gulf states are in negotiations to buy the Iron Dome defense system and possibly other Israeli-developed weapons for protection from “a growing arsenal of Iranian missiles,” Sky News reported on Tuesday.

Bahrain’s foreign minister, Khalid bin Mohammed, told Sky News that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, are interested in purchasing the Israeli weapon for the entire council.

“The Israelis have their small Iron Dome. We’ll have a much bigger one in the GCC,” Mohammed said on Tuesday in London.

Mohammed said that interest in the Iron Dome has increased as a result of the Iran nuclear deal, which will loosen sanctions on Iran. The Bahraini foreign minister said the agreement will allow Iran to “stockpile enough missiles to overwhelm any defense system we build in the Gulf.”

The jointly developed US-Israeli systems would be purchased via the US, according to Sky News…

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