Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, the Israeli military chief of staff, has voiced Tel Aviv's readiness to "exchange experience with the moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to face Iran."

In an unprecedented interview on Saudi-run Elaph news site, Eisenkot said: "We are ready to share information if necessary. There are many common interests between us and them," and emphasized that Tel Aviv and Riyadh had never fought each other.

Eisenkot has previously described Tehran as "the biggest threat to the region," adding that Israel and Saudi Arabia maintain a similar stance on the issue.

"Iran seeks to take control of the Middle East, creating a Shiite crescent from Lebanon to Iran, and then from the Gulf to the Red Sea," Eisenkot has claimed, adding, "We must prevent this from happening."

After accusing Iran of supplying weapons to Hezbollah Shiite movement, the IDF chief went on to stress that Israel has no intention of launching an attack on the Lebanon-based group.

Eisenkot’s interview marks the first time any senior Israel Defense Forces officer, let alone the chief of staff, has been interviewed by a Saudi Arabian media organization.

Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

The interview comes after Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s surprise resignation two weeks ago, and the wave of arrests of Saudi princes, ministers and businessmen – along with direct public threats by Saudi Arabia, and Israel, aimed at Iran and Hezbollah.