The US CENTCOM commander arrives in Israel to discuss cooperation and combined naval operations.

 


Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), arrived in Israel on Wednesday night for a visit aimed at improving military ties, particularly in the area of naval operations. 
Kurilla, who was received by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, began his tour to the Israeli Navy's elite Shayetet 13 commando unit on Thursday. 
Cpt. "Aleph," who can only be identified by the first letter of his first name in Hebrew, informed Kurilla. According to the IDF, the briefing focused on the unit's actions, recent collaborative activity with the US Navy, and current intelligence assessments. 
The IDF used Kurilla's visit to release video of recent Israeli-US naval activities in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a key chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 
Following their visit to the Shayetet 13 unit, Kurilla and Halevi met separately to discuss the "continued expansion of cooperation and sharing of operational capabilities between the two militaries," according to the IDF. 
The IDF stated that meetings would take place in the coming weeks between the deputy IDF head, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, and his CENTCOM counterpart, Lt. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, to "continue shared operational planning between the militaries." 
"We are closely monitoring the changes in the region, with a particular focus on the rise in Iranian hostility and terror activity." Precisely in this sensitive time period, the close partnership between the IDF and the US Armed Forces is critical; we will continue our cooperation and shared commitment to Middle East stability," Halevi said in remarks issued by the IDF. 
"As with every visit to the IDF, I was blown away by the combat readiness I witnessed here." "Our military-to-military relationship with Israel is still unbreakable," Kurilla stated. 
Kurilla later met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss Iran. 
"The parties discussed emerging regional challenges, with a particular emphasis on Iran's malign activities in the Middle East." This includes Iranian maritime aggression and the transportation of weapons to terror organizations and proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere in the region," the Defense Ministry stated in a statement. 
Earlier this month, the country experienced a security escalation on multiple fronts, including rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Israeli retaliatory strikes; a barrage of rockets from Lebanon; a rocket attack from Syria; a suspected Iranian drone launched from Syria and Israeli strikes in response; clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount; and deadly terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. 
Gallant has stated that Iran is mostly responsible for the increase, listing the money Iran pays to each of its terror affiliates. 
According to the ministry, Gallant "expressed the State of Israel's concerns regarding Iran's progress in its nuclear program and its goal of achieving nuclear military capabilities." 
The two "expressed their shared commitment to deepening their unique cooperation and intelligence-sharing between their respective militaries and defense establishments," according to the ministry. 
Halevi was joined at the meeting by Maj. Gen. Tal Kelman, the military official in charge of Iran affairs; Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, the defense attaché in Washington; and Dror Shalom, the head of the Defense Ministry's political-military Bureau. 
In September 2021, CENTCOM formally took over responsibility for the US military's connection with Israel. Previously, Israel had been placed under the jurisdiction of the European Command (EUCOM) in order to avoid potential tensions between CENTCOM and the Arab and Muslim nations under its jurisdiction, many of which did not maintain formal ties with Israel and thus did not want to be considered mutual allies. 
However, in recent years, CENTCOM's Arab allies have increasingly developed relations with Israel, some of which are informal, and the issue has largely faded.

By Covenant 













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