Dangerous escalation in the Middle East: the US and Israel hand in glove in the next battle

Iran is blaming the US for increasing tension in the Middle East. The Pentagon has shifted combat command responsibility for operations involving Israel from the US European Command (EUCOM) to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). This step has led Iranian officials to take a series of measures, including proceeding to more advanced stages in its nuclear development. This challenges the JCPOA nuclear deal, which provoked European leaders who, along with the US, have failed to honour their commitments since 2015. Furthermore, Iran has conducted missile, air and sea manoeuvres and has taken escalating steps with the “Axis of the Resistance” to confront the new US-Israeli joint military command. These steps make the Middle East more dangerous than ever and are a severe challenge for Joe Biden’s new US administration policies and actions.

Decision-makers in Iran explained that “integrating Israel under the Central Operations Command constitutes a direct threat to Iran. It means that Israel will operate within the entire Middle Eastern combat command and “area of ​​responsibility” under the control of US Central Command. Consequently, the theatre of combat operations and espionage will be shared with all countries that fall under this umbrella (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Bahrein, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Seychelles). This will give Israel the ability and authority to use and be present in all airports operated by American forces and to shelter under their umbrella at the largest US bases in countries where Iran is considered an enemy- mainly Saudi Arabia.”

The source affirms the “need to reconsider and increase Iran’s military capabilities to a much higher level because the threat has grown and reached Iran’s gates, now that Israel is present in many Arab countries surrounding us. Consequently, it has become important and necessary for Iran to equip itself with the same ability as its enemy despite the nuclear prohibitions that Tehran has adhered to of its own volition.” In 2003, the Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei declared that pursuing nuclear power was forbidden by Islam. However, sources in Iran consider that it may be possible to think again about the fatwa if Iran’s existence is seriously threatened. In 1973, during the Arab-Israeli war known as Yom Kippur, Israel was ready to use nuclear bombs when the danger was considered overwhelming.

There is no doubt that Israel has long benefited from US military and intelligence capabilities and bases in the Middle East. Throughout the years, Israel has struck targets in Iraq and Syria, using the US logistical facilities in the Middle Eastern countries, considered the « area of ​​operations ». However, this benefit was not a matter of course, so long as Israel was under EUCOM. Instead, Israel took advantage of the influence it possesses within American administrations and took advantage of any military facilities the acting US President might offer to Israel.

However, the transfer of Israel’s leadership to CENTCOM means that the Israelis will be entitled to benefit from all facilities because Israel has become part of the organisational structure of America’s Middle East strategy. Iran considers this as an immense direct threat to the “Islamic Republic”.

This step is considered dangerous because it allows the Pentagon to use Israel in regional operations in the Middle East for any “dirty work” in case of war. This means Israel will be operating with the US in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries after their recent normalisation of relations with Israel. Had Israel been linked to CENTCOM in 2003, it would have been allowed to participate in the war against Saddam Hussein during Iraq’s occupation. However, Palestine remains within the operations of the US command in Europe, even if Israel belongs to CENTCOM.

What is Iran preparing in response to the US move? The sources say that Iran “has formed a unified leadership within its operational room that tackles the emerging threat, distributing the responsibility of the “Axis of the Resistance” into decentralised sectors of operation. It is taking into account the high combat capacity of the US Central Operations Command, CENTCOM, and that of Israel. Consequently, it has been decided to establish separate operations rooms with each one enjoying full authority to respond, attack and defend against the new US-Israeli unified operational room in case of war.

In other words, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen will have separate operations rooms acting within a unified protocol that will take collective decisions to accept or reject a cease-fire proposition in case of war and offer support when needed. The reason for this autonomous status prevents the targeting and the destruction of a central operations room. This is why several independent operation rooms help maintain command continuity and coordinate these when necessary.

New joint acts of the US-Israeli central operations coordination were monitored by several patrols carried out over countries where the “Axis of Resistance” operations operate from the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. While the American B-52H was flying over the Middle East, Israeli F-16s were conducting aerial manoeuvres over Lebanon and Syria. Moreover, the Sixth Fleet, based in the Middle East, was operating within the CENTCOM operations room to remain ready and on-demand if needed.

Consequently, if war breaks out in Lebanon, US jets may bomb Hezbollah targets along with Israeli jets, because the operating room has become a joint operation run by the US Central Command, not Israel. Although the US was already helping Israel with logistical – intelligence – and operational support in the past, this kind of future cooperation will take the next war to another level. It also means that the security of Americans in the Middle East will be very much at stake and subject to Israeli decisions. This greatly raises the level of danger in the Middle East.

That is why the “Axis of the Resistance” has concluded that any future war will not be between two countries and on the front line. In any coming war, the bombing is expected to take place at the heart of every city. This will be highly destructive, far more than in any previous war. Precision missiles are already directed at strategic targets in the bank of objectives. US-Israeli cooperation will not prevent damage from being inflicted on both sides despite their superiority and the abundance of fire and military capacity.  Israel has 15,000 sites within its bank of objectives, and the “Axis of the Resistance” has thousands of US and Israeli sites targeted by its strategic precision missiles. Consequently, massive destruction is expected on both sides.

Finally, the display of Iran’s missile force in its recent naval and drones’ manoeuvres can be seen as a first response. It is a message from the Iranian leadership to this newly announced US-Israeli alliance.

Iran rebuffed the recent US announcement of sending the Nimitz aircraft carrier, whose Iranian missiles did not fall very far away from during its current missiles’ manoeuvre. The despatching of four B- 52H bombers sent by the Pentagon to the Middle East was taken seriously because their missile payloads constitute a fraction of what the American military bases in the region possess. Also, these B-52H cannot fly over Iran for fear of being shot down.

In conclusion, it is understood that Iran and the US are sending intimidating messages to each other. This is obviously increasing tension in the Middle East, and the new US administration under President Joe Biden will need a miracle to de-escalate this level of stress.