Gulf..

Bahrain has confirmed that an Israeli naval officer will be stationed in the Gulf state,

 the first time an Israeli military officer is being posted to an Arab country.

In a statement on Saturday, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said the appointment of the Israeli officer is related to an international coalition “to secure the freedom of navigation in the region

Gulf countries, including Bahrain, often accuse Iran of threatening the security of maritime navigation in the region. Tehran denies the accusations.

However, local and Israeli media said the officer will be stationed in Manama permanently in the coming weeks citing an agreement reached during Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz’s visit to the kingdom earlier this month.

Bahrain is among the four Arab countries along with the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Morocco that signed US-sponsored agreements to normalise their relations with Israel in 2020. The Peace treaty was accomplished with the Trump admin at the time.