⁍ Bahrain and Israel signed a joint communique to formalise nascent ties.
⁍ Move follows the United Arab Emirates in agreeing last month to normalise ties with Israel.
⁍ For the U.S. allies, it is a chance to close ranks on Iran more overtly.
– The US is sending Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and other officials to sign economic agreements with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of President Trump’s efforts to increase economic ties with the Arab world, the New York Times reports. According to Reuters, Mnuchin and other US officials will travel to the UAE on Monday, where they will sign a deal allowing 28 weekly commercial flights between Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and Dubai and Abu Dhabi. On Tuesday, they will travel to Saudi Arabia, where they will sign a deal allowing direct commercial flights between the two countries for the first time. Saudi Arabia has resisted Trump’s calls to normalize ties with Israel. Bahrain followed suit last month.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-gulf-bahrain/israel-bahrain-formalise-ties-at-ceremony-attended-by-us-officials-idUSKBN273044