Add Israel to the Combined Maritime Forces and its Red Sea task force

Egypt took command of the multinational Combined Task Force 153 on Dec. 12 during a ceremony in Bahrain. The task force, which was established in April 2022, focuses on maritime security in the Red Sea, the Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. Egypt’s laudable new leadership of CTF 153 and the task force’s growing momentum will help secure vital waterways, while building partner capacity and enhancing cooperation among regional and international forces.

That’s more important than ever as Iran, its terror proxies and others continue to use the Red Sea to conduct illicit smuggling and disrupt international shipping. Expanding CTF 153 and its parent organization, the Combined Maritime Forces, to include countries such as Israel can help secure crucial sea lines of communication.

CMF is a U.S.-led naval partnership comprising 34 members, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. India, Djibouti, Kenya, and Oman are CMF partner nations. On average, there are six to eight vessels from contributing countries operating in support of the task force. Those efforts have already yielded results: A vessel operating in support of CTF 153 seized more than 2,500 kilograms of illegal drugs worth an estimated $20 million from a fishing vessel in November in the Gulf of Aden.

Egypt first joined the CMF in April 2021 and is already leading the newly stood-up task force. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised Egypt’s assumption of command of CTF 153 in a Dec. 14 meeting with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Cairo has made significant investments in new naval facilities bordering the Red Sea. The Egyptian Navy regularly operates in the Red Sea, bringing valuable maritime expertise and regional knowledge.

To build on the task force’s early success, generate additional capability, and reduce demands on finite, manned naval vessels, CTF 153 has worked with the U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, which integrates unmanned air, sea and underwater technologies in maritime operations.

Notably, Iran has repeatedly attempted to seize American unmanned surface vessels. On Aug. 29, 2022, the U.S. Navy detected an Iranian ship in the Persian Gulf towing an American USV . When U.S. forces responded, the Iranian vessel cut the line towing the USV and departed. Two days later , another Iranian ship seized two USVs that had been operating in the Red Sea for more than 200 days without incident. Two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers responded quickly, seeking to recover the USVs. The Iranian crew refused to release them for approximately 18 hours, eventually relenting the next morning.

As these incidents demonstrate, American-led efforts to increase maritime surveillance and interdiction capabilities with key regional partners clearly have caused consternation for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which remains a leading threat to freedom of navigation in the wider Middle East . Tehran would prefer to keep its malign maritime activities concealed and its adversaries divided.

Countries that support freedom of navigation, regional stability and the rule of law should not let Iran get away with that strategy.

So what’s to be done?

The United States and its Arab partners should seek to build a large, capable and unified coalition in the Middle East to expose and counter maritime aggression and illicit activities. As a next step, Israel should be added as a formal member of CMF and participate in CTF 153. That would promote regional security, while undermining the Islamic Republic of Iran’s efforts to isolate its adversaries.

Indeed, Israel shares an interest in countering smuggling and other malign activity in the Red Sea, and it previously conducted naval exercises with Bahrain, the UAE and the U.S. in those waters focused on “visit, board, search and seizure tactics.”

Sa'ar 5-class corvettes of the Israeli Navy are moored at the military port of Haifa in Israel on Oct. 12, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israeli Navy is one of the more capable in the region and has a naval base at Eilat located on the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba. The Israeli Navy includes missile ships, corvettes, supply ships and submarines, many of which are equipped with advanced sensors and supported by USVs and air assets. Israeli naval assets also include dozens of patrol boats operated by crews experienced in detecting and interdicting smuggling operations, especially those conducted by Iranian proxies.

Despite this fact, Israel is not a member of CMF and is not part of CTF 153.

The Pentagon added Israel to U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility in 2021, recognizing that doing so can promote regional security and create a more capable and unified deterrent against Tehran and its terror proxies. The same motives should inspire governments of good faith to support the addition of Israel to the Combined Maritime Forces.

Bradley Bowman is senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, where Ryan Brobst is a research analyst.

12月12日，埃及在巴林举行的仪式上正式接管了多国联合特遣部队153（CTF 153）的指挥权。该特遣部队成立于2022年4月，主要负责红海、曼德海峡和亚丁湾的海上安全。埃及对CTF 153的卓越领导以及该特遣部队日益增强的实力，将有助于保障重要水道的安全，同时提升伙伴国的能力，并加强区域和国际部队之间的合作。

鉴于伊朗及其恐怖代理人和其他势力持续利用红海进行非法走私和扰乱国际航运，这一点比以往任何时候都更加重要。扩大第153联合特遣部队及其上级机构——联合海上部队——的规模，将以色列等国纳入其中，有助于保障关键的海上交通线安全。

联合海上力量（CMF）是由美国领导的海军伙伴关系，由34个成员国组成，包括巴林、伊拉克、约旦、科威特、沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国。印度、吉布提、肯尼亚和阿曼是CMF的伙伴国。平均而言，来自各成员国的六至八艘舰艇参与了特遣部队的行动。这些努力已经取得了成果：去年11月，一艘参与第153联合特遣部队行动的舰艇在亚丁湾从一艘渔船上查获了超过2500公斤的非法毒品，估计价值2000万美元。

埃及于2021年4月首次加入联合军事部队（CMF），并已领导新成立的第153联合特遣部队（CTF 153）。美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀在12月14日与埃及总统阿卜杜勒-法塔赫·塞西会晤时，对埃及接管CTF 153指挥权表示赞赏。开罗已在红海沿岸新建了大量海军设施。埃及海军经常在红海活动，带来了宝贵的海上专业知识和区域经验。

为了巩固特遣部队早期取得的成功，增强能力，并减少对有限的有人驾驶海军舰艇的需求，第 153 特遣部队与美国海军第 59 特遣部队合作，将无人空中、海上和水下技术整合到海上行动中。

值得注意的是，伊朗曾多次试图扣押美国无人水面舰艇。2022年8月29日，美国海军在波斯湾发现一艘伊朗舰艇拖曳一艘美国无人水面舰艇。美军做出反应后，伊朗舰艇切断了拖曳缆绳并离开。两天后，另一艘伊朗舰艇扣押了两艘已在红海作业超过200天且未发生任何意外的无人水面舰艇。两艘美国海军导弹驱逐舰迅速做出反应，试图回收这些舰艇。伊朗船员拒绝释放舰艇，持续了约18个小时，最终在第二天早上才妥协。

这些事件表明，美国主导的与关键区域伙伴加强海上监视和拦截能力的努力，显然引起了伊朗伊斯兰共和国的不安。伊朗仍然是整个中东地区航行自由的主要威胁。德黑兰更希望掩盖其恶意海上活动，并分化其对手。

支持航行自由、地区稳定和法治的国家不应该让伊朗的这种策略得逞。

那么该怎么办呢？

美国及其阿拉伯伙伴应努力在中东地区建立一个规模庞大、能力强且团结一致的联盟，以揭露和打击海上侵略和非法活动。下一步，应正式接纳以色列加入联合军事力量（CMF），并参与第153联合特遣部队（CTF 153）。这将有助于促进地区安全，同时削弱伊朗孤立其对手的企图。

事实上，以色列对打击红海的走私和其他恶意活动也抱有浓厚的兴趣，此前以色列曾与巴林、阿联酋和美国在这些水域进行过海军演习，重点是“访问、登临、搜查和扣押战术”。

2022年10月12日，以色列海军的萨尔5型轻型护卫舰停泊在以色列海法军港。（图片来源：Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images）

以色列海军是该地区实力最强的海军之一，其海军基地位于红海亚喀巴湾的埃拉特。以色列海军拥有导弹舰、轻型护卫舰、补给舰和潜艇，其中许多舰艇配备了先进的传感器，并得到无人水面艇和空中力量的支援。以色列海军还拥有数十艘巡逻艇，其艇员经验丰富，擅长侦测和拦截走私活动，特别是伊朗代理人进行的走私活动。

尽管如此，以色列既不是联合军事力量（CMF）的成员，也不是第153联合特遣部队（CTF 153）的成员。

五角大楼于2021年将以色列纳入美国中央司令部的责任区，认为此举有助于促进地区安全，并建立更强大、更统一的威慑力量，以对抗德黑兰及其恐怖代理人。出于同样的动机，各国政府也应支持将以色列纳入联合海上部队。

布拉德利·鲍曼是保卫民主基金会智库下属军事和政治权力中心的高级主任，瑞安·布罗布斯特是该智库的研究分析师。