Greece in Talks with Israel to Develop 2 bln Euro 'Iron Dome'

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
TT
20

Greece in Talks with Israel to Develop 2 bln Euro 'Iron Dome'

Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

Greece is in talks with Israel to develop a 2 billion euro ($2.11 billion) anti-aircraft and missile defense dome, part of a wider push to modernize its armed forces as it recovers from a protracted debt crisis, Greek officials said on Thursday.

The defenses would likely mimic Israel's Iron Dome and other systems that intercept short- and long-range missiles launched during strikes from its neighbors amid the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

Greece is keen to invest in its defenses to keep up with its NATO ally and historic rival Türkiye, which is also developing its own air defenses, despite some improvement in relations.

"The plan is to create a multi-layer anti-aircraft and anti-drone system," one source with knowledge of the issue told Reuters after a closed door briefing with Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias.

"We are in discussions with Israel," the source said.

A second official confirmed the scale of the potential deal, adding that Greece needs to spend 12.8 billion euros by 2035 to modernize its armed forces.

The air defenses are part of Athens' 10-year military purchasing plan that includes acquiring up to 40 new F-35 fighter jets and drones from the US, and four Belharra frigates and Rafale jets from France.

"Our effort is for a quick transition of our armed forces to the 21st century," Defense Minister Dendias said before the Thursday briefing.

Greece currently uses US Patriot and old Russian S-300 systems to protect its airspace.

Despite some thaw in Greece's long-troubled relations with Türkiye, its much larger eastern neighbor, the two countries remain at odds on a range of issues including sea boundaries, energy resources and airspace in the eastern Mediterranean.



G7 Urges Iran to Resume Diplomacy over Nuclear Program

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
TT
20

G7 Urges Iran to Resume Diplomacy over Nuclear Program

FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada March 13, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Foreign ministers of leading Western democracies warned on Thursday of the threat from Iran's growing use of arbitrary detention and foreign assassination attempts as a tool of coercion, a final draft statement seen by Reuters showed.

The G7 nations, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, said in a statement that Tehran was a principle source of instability in the Middle East and urged it to resume diplomacy over its nuclear program.

Representatives of China, Russia and Iran called Friday for an end to US sanctions on Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program and a restart to multinational talks on the issue.

The three countries' meeting was the latest attempt to broach the matter and come after US President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jumpstart talks.

The letter, which hasn’t been published, was offered as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign that holds out the possibility of military action while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.