CENTCOM Chief Visits Israel To Discuss Iran and Lebanon

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), is visiting Israel as the US and Israeli militaries are still coordinating on the potential for an Iranian reprisal attack in response to the Israeli killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.

The Israeli military said Monday that Kurilla met with Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gen. Herzi Halevi. “The general’s visit focuses on current threats, with an emphasis on threats from Lebanon and Iran in the northern arena,” the IDF wrote on X.

Kurilla also visited northern Israel and met with the head of the IDF’s Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin. The IDF said that during the meeting, Kurilla was presented with Israel’s “operational plans for Lebanon.”

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged a heavy round of fire on August 25, which Hezbollah said was its response to the Israeli killing of one of its top military commanders in an airstrike in Beirut on July 30. Since then, the two sides have continued to trade fire, but there have been no moves toward a full-blown war.

The US has given Israel strong backing in its fight against Hezbollah and has deployed additional warships and warplanes to the region for the purpose of defending Israel if the situation escalates or if Iran launches an attack on Israel. The US has also stepped up weapons shipments to Israel in the wake of the Haniyeh assassination, which occurred on July 31.

Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Friday that the US told Israel the additional naval assets in the Middle East cannot stay there “forever” and would need to be brought home eventually.