Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz met today in Athens with Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, three weeks after visiting Turkey and meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, taking the opportunity to slam Iran’s activities and offer Israel’s help in easing the ongoing Turkish-Greek dispute.
“Iranian aggression continues to be a great threat to the region and the world,” Gantz said at a joint news conference with his host. “We see Iran's involvement in the war in Ukraine; the UN Board of Governors voted tonight again affirming that it (Iran) continues to develop its nuclear program. We see its support for terrorism and its proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and also in the West Bank, and just this week an Iranian drone hit a civilian ship. This is another sign of the need to stop the spread of Iranian influence in the region and the world — and its influence on its affiliates. This is what we are doing through CENTCOM's umbrella in the region."
Israel has formed a strong partnership with Greece and Cyprus over the past decade, especially on the backdrop of the deterioration of its ties with Turkey. Wide-ranging security relations include joint military exercises, intelligence cooperation and more.
The outgoing minister has been spending his final days in office trying to stabilize Israel’s regional ties in order to give his successor time to get up to speed on the issues involved.
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