CENTCOM, IDF, Arab militaries held military summit on Middle East, Iran, source confirms to 'Post'

What Happened

US Central Command (CENTCOM) hosted a closed military conference in Germany last week with senior military leaders from eight countries, a CENTCOM source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post. According to Israeli officials cited by Axios, the participants included the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Egypt; the discussion, organized by CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, centered on the conflict with Iran. Cooper reassured chiefs of staff that the US would not withdraw forces from the region despite Iranian attacks on US bases and briefed them on US plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz and increase maritime traffic. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir briefed Arab counterparts on Israel's operations across its fronts. The meeting was reported amid escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure and an advance along Yemen's Red Sea coast toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait. On Monday, thirteen civilians were wounded in strikes by the Iran-backed Houthis on Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif, according to Reuters. Washington told Riyadh it would provide intelligence-sharing and targeting assistance but did not agree to US strikes, sources said, and Jerusalem committed to assist Riyadh with military intelligence in a separate recent Israel-Saudi meeting mediated by CENTCOM.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The conference signals a rare, publicly confirmed operational-military channel between Israel and multiple Arab states under US auspices, reinforcing the Abraham Accords framework and potentially broadening normalization. It also addresses twin regional pressures: Iran's attacks on US bases and the Houthi campaign against Saudi oil exports and Red Sea shipping, with Washington trying to reassure Gulf partners without committing to direct strikes.

Watch For

Monitor whether the countries named by former President Trump move to sign the Abraham Accords simultaneously, and whether Kuwait joins within the four-to-six-month timeline given by Israel's ambassador to the UAE. Track Houthi operations around Bab al-Mandab and Saudi cities, as well as any follow-up CENTCOM-led meetings that formalize intelligence-sharing, targeting assistance, or Israeli-Saudi defense cooperation.