The United States held a secret meeting of senior military officials from Israel and Arab states in March to discuss ways of coordinating efforts to deal with growing Iranian missile and drone threats, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“The previously undisclosed talks, which were held at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, marked the first time that such a range of ranking Israeli and Arab officers have met under U.S. military auspices to discuss how to defend against a common threat,” said the report.

Participating in the meeting were senior officers from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan, the report stated, citing U.S. and regional officials.

The United States was represented by Gen. Frank McKenzie, who was the head of U.S. Central Command at the time.

Last week, NBC reported that Jordan’s King Abdullah II had expressed support for the formation of a Middle Eastern military alliance similar to NATO. JNS