Israel is taking part in a massive US-led naval exercise in the Middle East, joining publicly for the first time with Saudi Arabia and Oman, two countries with which it has no diplomatic relations, Reuters reported.

International Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMX 22) includes about 60 countries and comes amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf following missile strikes on the United Arab Emirates by  Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Israel normalised relations with Gulf states the UAE and Bahrain in 2020, brought together by shared worries about Iran, and first held a joint naval drill with those two countries in November.

But this is the first time Israel is participating in an IMX exercise publicly with Saudi Arabia, with which it has no diplomatic relations.

The US Navy spokesman said the exercise planners were aware of the geopolitical context of the participating countries, but that cooperation was at a high level.