On the backdrop of threats posed by Iran and US President Biden’s visit to Israel, US Central Command Chief Gen. Michael Kurilla is in Israel.
As Israel continues to increase its ties with regional states against the threat posed by Iran, US Central Command Chief Gen. Michael Kurilla is in Israel to meet with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi and other senior military officials.
This marks Kurilla’s second visit since entering his position in April.
During his first visit in May, he participated in the IDF’s Chariots of Fire wargames and met with senior officers to discuss issues related to joint challenges facing the US military and Israel, including the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and the establishment of Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East.
According to the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit, this visit is a “complementary meeting following the strategic-operational forum between the two nation’s militaries last month and will focus on Israel’s aerial defense array.”
While Kurilla didn’t participate in the meeting, it saw the participation of the Deputy Commander of the US Central Command, Vice Admiral James Malloy, the Commander of the Ninth Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Gregory M. Guillot (who is expected to enter the position of Deputy Commander of the US Central Command in the coming weeks), Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.
The Israeli participants included Deputy Chief of the Staff, Maj.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Head of the Operations Directorate Maj.Gen. Oded Basiuk, the Head of the Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate Maj.-Gen. Tal Kelman, the Commander of the Israeli Air Force Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar, the Commander of the Israeli Navy, Vice Admira David Saar Salama and the Defense Attaché to Washington Maj.-Gen. Hidai Zilberman.
“Throughout the visit, a series of strategic and intelligence briefings were led by senior officials from both militaries,” read a statement released by the military at the time, adding that the officials also discussed opportunities for expanding operational cooperation.
Kurilla’s visit also comes just days after US President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia. Shortly after the president landed in Israel he was given a tour of Israel’s multi-layered defense umbrella including the Iron Dome and Iron Beam laser system which is still in development.
Kohavi, who also toured the systems with Biden said that “the operational cooperation and close coordination between the United States and Israel constitute further proof of the important strategic alliance between the two countries.”
Middle East Air Defense (MEAD)
During Biden’s visit, he was also briefed on regional challenges as well as the Middle East Air Defense (MEAD). Defense Minister Benny Gantz has said that the program is already operative and has already enabled the successful interception of Iranian attempts to attack Israel and other countries.
While it is unclear which states in the region have joined, in a recent paper by Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the general said that the campaign to thwart Iran’s regional plans is taking place across the Middle East, with a “regional alliance” of the US, Israel, the Gulf States (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait), Egypt and Jordan, as well as Qatar, Oman, Sudan and Morocco.
Following Kurilla’s visit to Israel, Kohavi will leave to Morocco for the first official visit by an IDF chief of staff to the North African kingdom.
During the three-day-long visit, he will meet with senior officials from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. He will be joined by the Head of the IDF’s International Cooperation Division Brig.-Gen. Efi Defrin and the Head of Military Intelligence’s Research Division Brig.-Gen. Amit Saar.
“This visit is in addition to recent meetings and cooperation between the two countries, as part of the advancement of military-security cooperation between the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco”
IDF
“This visit is in addition to recent meetings and cooperation between the two countries, as part of the advancement of military-security cooperation between the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco,” the military said.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Maj.-Gen. Herzi Halevi will replace Kohavi until he returns
As reported by The Jerusalem Post