Aiming to confront Iran, Trump expands the US Central Military Command to include Israel and the Arab countries.



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The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) confirmed that the US had made a change to the unified military command plan and moved Israel from the US military command’s area of ​​operations in Europe to Central Command, which includes Arab countries.

In a statement released Friday, the ministry said it reviews the unified command plan every two years, reassesses boundaries and relationships related to the operating environment, and makes changes aimed at reducing risks and protecting the interests of the United States and its partners .

The Pentagon added that the reduction of tension between Israel and its neighbors after the signing of the “Abraham” accords provided an important opportunity for the United States to rally key partners against common threats in the region, considering that the inclusion of Israel in Central Command would provide additional opportunities for cooperation with Washington’s partners in leadership, while maintaining strong cooperation. Between Israel and America’s European allies.

The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that the US president had ordered the expansion of the US Central Military Command in the Middle East. Include Israel.

The newspaper said the purpose of this step, which comes days before the end of Trump’s term, is to strengthen cooperation between Israel and the Arab countries against Iran.

He added that the decision means that the Central Military Command will oversee US military policy in both Israel and the Arab countries.

The current US president has strongly pushed for the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which was achieved over the past year.

The new architecture
Under the new structure, the US military leadership in the Middle East will cooperate with Israel and the Arab countries together, as these parties are common allies.

US officials said Trump decided at the last minute to reorganize the middle military command structure. A response to pro-Israel groups that have been calling for this for a long time to boost Arab-Israeli cooperation against Iran.

According to the same source, the order issued by Trump was recently taken, and this step is the latest in a series of moves by the current administration to shape the national security agenda that President-elect Joe Biden will inherit.

The Wall Street Journal indicated that US military responsibility for Israel has so far been assumed by the US military command in Europe.

Source : Al-Jazeera + Anadolu Agency + Wall Street Journal



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