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Iranian aggression, UAVs, and Russian weapons purchases have been outlined as major security threats facing Middle Eastern nations during two recent Gulf Cooperation Councils.
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The US Defense Department met with participating member nations United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait at the invitation of the GCC on 13 February.
Production of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles to non-state actors across the region and Iranian aggression on land and at sea are all considered major threats.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Dana Stroul, said discussions centred around the status of air and missile defense systems, intelligence sharing opportunities, early warning systems, and evaluation of partners’ capabilities to develop layered air defence.
“There is a shared assessment between the United States and the GCC of the threats that face us ... there’s an alignment of the threat perception,” she said.
“Needless to say, the work to bring partners together and the increased rate of maritime interdictions, I think, speaks both to the serious nature of the threats we face at sea and to how we can effectively address those threats through increased cooperation.
“When it comes to maritime security, (US Naval Forces Central Command) is doing incredible work today, expanding maritime domain awareness and bringing together partners through its combined task forces to address threats that we hear from our partners are of tremendous concern.”
The groups also discussed military cooperation between Iran and Russia, in particular the unlawful transfer of Iranian weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Stroul said the major feedback from discussions on air and missile defence was interest in increased integration between different systems.
“There has been no other moment in time in which the prospect for meaningful integration is more real than today,” she said.
“It’s both because of that alignment of threats that I just went through. And it is also because of emerging technology and the culture of innovation that Centcom (US Central Command) is fostering together with its partners.”
