On Wednesday evening, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense denied information relayed by the media indicating its intention to participate in naval military exercises involving Israel on June 28.
The ministry said in a statement: “Contrary to what has been relayed by foreign media regarding the participation of the Tunisian Navy in NATO’s Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21) naval exercise in the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense denies any possible participation with these exercises.”
A wave of anger has pervaded the Arab world over Israel’s recent brutal attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories, in particular its 11-day military aggression targeting the Gaza Strip.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the Tunisian Republican Party, Issam Chebbi, on Facebook called on the country’s President, Kais Saied, to provide clarification regarding Israeli media reports on Tunisia’s participation in the exercises.
Since 1997, Sea Breeze is an annual multinational military exercise co-hosted by the United States and Ukraine.
The United States Embassy in Kiev recently said 32 countries from 6 continents will participate in this year’s exercises, with 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 planes, and 18 special operations and diving units.
