US Looks to Increase Anti-Iran Military Cooperation

Pentagon seeks to deepen ties with Israel, Middle East

Israeli Army Chief Aviv Kohavi is reporting that the US is increasing military coordination with Israel and some other Middle Eastern countries, with an eye toward “countering” Iran.

Israeli officials are reporting this increased coordination is coming with CENTCOM,  and has been ongoing for the last two months, just as the Biden Administration has been negotiating on a nuclear deal with Iran.

Kohavi and other Israeli officials are reportedly keen on using this increased cooperation, and increased vilification of Iran as a way to increase their own ties with the Gulf states — the UAE, Bahrain, and other nations that they haven’t made an official agreement with.

All of this is contingent on advancing the narrative that Iran is some sort of non-specific “threat” to the region. This is virtually the core ideology of Israel, of course, and the US seems comfortable pushing this idea with the newly elected and incoming Raisi government, which has yet to even take power yet.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.