The commander of the U.S. Central Command (Centcom), General Eric Kurilla, has arrived in Israel to meet with senior military officials, as announced by the Pentagon on Thursday, amid escalating regional tensions with Iran threatening to respond to the bombing of its consulate in Damascus, an attack accused of being carried out by the Israeli state. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder stated that Kurilla “will meet with the Israeli military leadership and discuss current security threats in the region.” He noted that this visit, initially planned before the Iranian threats, was expedited due to "recent developments."
For his part, an Israeli military spokesman confirmed Kurilla's arrival, indicating that he and Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi conducted a "strategic assessment of the situation regarding security challenges" in the region. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged "steady" support for Israel, while Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that Israel "must be punished and will be punished."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that “if Iran executes an attack from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran.” Since the start of the devastating war in Gaza six months ago, the U.S. and the international community have repeatedly expressed concern over a significant escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. In this context, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Thursday with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, who informed him that “a direct attack from Iran would necessitate an appropriate Israeli response.”
