Israeli officials leak details of secret US-Israel-Arab military meeting, says report - Middle East Eye
Israeli officials have leaked details of a secret meeting between military commanders from the US, Israel and several Arab states in Germany last week to discuss the war launched by Israel and the US against Iran.
The report by former Israeli intelligence officer turned journalist Barak Ravid for Axios said the “private retreat” was organised by the commander of US Central Command (Centcom), Admiral Brad Cooper.
Citing two unnamed Israeli officials, Ravid reported that the meeting was attended by the military chiefs of staff of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt.
It was the first such gathering since the US and Israel went to war with Iran more than six months ago.
None of the regional countries publicly confirmed the meeting, although Centcom acknowledged it, saying in a statement that it "hosted senior military leaders from eight nations during a scheduled conference in Germany.
The statement said: "The leaders discussed opportunities for enhancing security cooperation in the Middle East."
During the meeting, Cooper reportedly told the regional countries that despite Iranian attacks on US bases, Washington would not withdraw its forces from the region.
Iranian strikes have damaged at least 15 US military sites across the region, destroying or damaging hundreds of buildings and pieces of military equipment.
US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan have been hit, and many rendered unusable.
Satellite analysis by the Washington Post identified damage at 15 separate US sites. Some positions were left close to unusable, while extensive damage to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain forced Centcom to reroute regional logistics.
The Centcom commander also reportedly said the US has a “plan” to expand ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
An Israeli official speaking to Ravid said Israel's chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, briefed participants on Israeli military operations in the region.
Israel was moved from the US European Command's area of responsibility to Centcom following the meeting, allowing it to cooperate more directly with regional countries under US military command.
Responding to the news, Andreas Krieg, associate professor at King’s College London, said: “There is a deep-seated suspicion towards Centcom commander Bradley Cooper in Arab capitals in the Gulf as a commander too close to Israel, too hawkish on Iran and constantly presenting the president with military operational options that are strategically disastrous.”
