Retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis. Photo: US Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons.

Given the slew of challenges it faces in the Middle East, America should bolster its military ties with Israel, a retired four-star US Navy admiral and former NATO commander said on Thursday.

The US, James Stavridis wrote in a Time magazine op-ed, would be “well served” to strengthen “its partnership with the Israel Defense Forces in several crucial areas” — including cybersecurity, technological development, intelligence sharing and special-forces training.

Stavridis — the current dean of Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy who was reportedly considered first by Hillary Clinton for her VP spot last summer and later by President-elect Donald Trump for the position of secretary of state — called Israel America’s “best military partner in the region, by far.”

The Jewish state, Stavridis went on to say, “survives in a hostile environment through innovation, determination and strong human capital.”

“In the complex Middle East,” Stavridis stated, the US would gain from listening to the IDF’s counsel “on a range of key issues.”

“And likewise,” he concluded, “they [the Israelis] would benefit greatly from further intelligence, technology and partnership with the US. It truly is a case of two nations that are unarguably stronger together — let’s build on what we have to get to the next level.”