The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday it has conducted a joint exercise with US Special Forces simulating the retaking of a hijacked ship.
The drill comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf and efforts by the Trump administration to set up a naval security mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy.
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The Persian Gulf has seen six attacks on oil tankers in recent weeks amid a growing confrontation between the United States and Iran in the wake of US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement between world powers and Tehran over a year ago.
The US has blamed the attacks, along with the downing of an American surveillance drone in the Persian Gulf, on Iran. Iran has denied involvement in the tanker attacks.
Israeli officials said the two militaries "exercised regaining control of a hijacked ship and extracting forces from enemy territory." Footage released by the army showed naval commandos parachuting and rappelling onto a ship and storming a container ship-like vessel during the exercise, dubbed "Naval Rose."
The exercise was held last Wednesday, but details were only announced by the military on Tuesday.
The IDF said the drill had no connection to recent events in the Persian Gulf and was planned as part of its annual training plan.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu frequently boasts of strong behind-the-scenes ties with Gulf Arab countries that feel similarly threatened by Iran. Such ties are largely kept under wraps due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and most of the Arab world.
Israeli media this month quoted Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz as telling a parliamentary committee that Israel was taking part in the US-led maritime coalition. Katz's office declined to comment on the reports.
Iraq's foreign minister said last week that Israel's participation in a US mission to protect shipping would be unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday that his country would be joining the US coalition.
"This destabilizing behavior [by Iran] is a threat to Australia's interests in the region," Morrison told a news conference in Canberra.
"The government has decided that it is in Australia's national interest to work with our international partners to contribute. Our contribution will be limited in scope and it will be time-bound," he said.
Morrison said Australia will send a P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane to the Middle East for one month before the end of 2019, while an Australian frigate will be deployed in January 2020 for six months.
Canberra, although keen to avoid stoking tensions, was widely expected to join the US-led maritime coalition.
