CENTCOM chief in Israel as US bolsters defenses for Iran retaliation

The head of CENTCOM visited Israel as the US bolsters defenses for the Jewish state in preparation for the expected retaliation for last week’s Israeli air attacks across Iran.

On Thursday, the Commander of US Central Command General Michael Kurilla, met with Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi.

“The Chief of the General Staff and the Commander of CENTCOM held a situational assessment on strategic security issues and joint regional preparedness, as part of the response to threats in the Middle East, with a focus on Iran,” the Israeli military said in a statement Sunday.

During General Kurilla’s visit, he visited the American THAAD aerial defense battery, recently deployed to Israel to strengthen defenses against the next Iranian strike which Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei this weekend warned would be a "crushing" attack.

In addition to sending 100 troops and the THAAD aerial defense battery earlier this month, the US has this week sent more warships and B-52 bombers to Israel as the Jewish state awaits an imminent retaliation to last week’s aerial strikes across Iran.

Last week, in the wake of a four-hour mission involving around 100 pilots, the Israeli military said it had caused significant damage to Iran’s air defense systems, allowing them scope “to do much more”, according to Halevi last week.

Two days ago, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said that the additional bolstering of troops and defenses is “in keeping with our commitments to the protection of US citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy”.

Ryder said that the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, had ordered the deployment of “additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several US Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region. These forces will begin to arrive in coming months as the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN Carrier Strike Group prepares to depart”.

He said it builds on the recent decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel as well as the sustained Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) in the Eastern Mediterranean, with additional deployments taking place at short notice around the region as new intelligence emerges.

“Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Ryder said.

Israel’s war of attrition with Iran escalated in April when Iran launched its inaugural direct attack on Israel with 350 drones, missiles and rockets. It said the attack was a retaliation for an alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate compound in Damascus which killed at least one Quds Force commander and multiple high ranking IRGC chiefs.

It came amid a war launched by Iran-backed Hamas on October 7, since which time, Iran’s militias around the region have acted in allegiance with the Gaza based group, designated globally as terrorists. It has seen Israel fighting Iran-backed groups on seven fronts including Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

On October 1, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, following a series of high-level killings including the leader of Iran’s largest militia, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the humiliating killing of the Hamas political leader in an IRGC compound in Tehran.