An IDF joint-exercise with the United States Marine Forces Central Command (MARCENT) and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) has drawn to a close after two weeks, the IDF announced on Twitter this Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the training, annual staff talks between the IDF and the Marines were held, where a joint-cooperation plan for 2022 was finalized. The talks were led by Brig.-Gen. Guy Levy, according to the IDF's statement.

The newest joint collaboration comes concurrently with an IDF amphibious exercise with the US Navy and Marines that started on November 2.

"This exercise is part of the next chapter in the US Navy’s and Marine Corps’ long-standing relationship with Israel that is so vital to stability and security in the region,” Marine Corps Brig.-Gen. Farrell Sullivan said in a statement about the naval exercise.

The collaboration is part of the United States and Israel’s long-standing military cooperation, though the exercise also comes amid heightened tensions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

IDF troops drill alongside US Marines as part of Juniper Cobra 2018​ (credit: ANNA AHRONHEIM)
IDF troops drill alongside US Marines as part of Juniper Cobra 2018​ (credit: ANNA AHRONHEIM)
“We will look at every option to deal with the challenge posed by Iran," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the press in October after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and UAE (United Arab Emirates) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyanin in Washington. "We continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective way to do that. But, it takes two to engage in diplomacy, and we have not seen from Iran a willingness to do that at this point."