Closed meeting in Germany chaired by the U.S. Central Command… first time after war with iran

US reaffirms its will to maintain troops in the Middle East... Explanation of plan to expand ship traffic in Hormuz

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Jin-won = Military leaders from the United States, Israel, and Arab countries met privately in Germany last week to discuss the war with Iran and overall tensions in the Middle East, American online media Axios reported on the 15th (local time).

According to Israeli officials, the meeting was convened by Commander Brad Cooper of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees the Middle East.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt attended.

Axios said similar meetings have been held in the past, but this is the first time the military leaders of these countries have gathered together since the war with Iran began in February.

Commander Cooper reaffirmed to attendees that the United States would not withdraw its troops from the Middle East despite Iran's attacks on U.S. military bases. He also explained the United States' plan to expand shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir explained the ongoing Israeli military operations on several fronts, an Israeli official told Axios.

The meeting was not officially announced by any of the participating countries. The U.S. Central Command, however, said, "We invited senior military leaders from eight countries to a meeting scheduled in Germany," and "the leaders discussed ways to strengthen security cooperation in the Middle East region."

Axios evaluated the meeting as a rare opportunity for military commanders from some Arab countries that do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel to meet directly with their Israeli counterparts and exchange opinions.

Since normalizing relations with the UAE and Bahrain by signing the Abraham Accords with the mediation of the United States in September 2020, Israel has also expanded security cooperation with other Arab countries in the region.

In particular, after Israel was transferred from the jurisdiction of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) to the jurisdiction of CENTCOM, military cooperation with Arab countries could be strengthened centered on CENTCOM. A foundation has also been laid for participation in the regional security cooperation system in the areas of air and missile defense.

In fact, Israel is known to have been cooperating with the UAE during the war against Iran. Israeli officials said that their country deployed the 'Iron Dome' air defense network to the UAE and dispatched operational personnel, and also provided real-time support to the UAE in the fields of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

It is reported that information sharing between Israel and Arab countries in the region increased as the war continued.