Pioch: A political web of the mediate East

Interesting teks published The Washington Post, and interestingly – in the tab as "exclusive". The text shows that arabian countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, through the American safety structure – they entered into any kind of conspiracy against Iran with Israel. That was the conclusion of commentators. Although I do not think that is clear from this article. In my opinion, there is no clear talk of a conspiracy against Iran. Rather, we are talking about the pact of arabian countries with Israel, which will aid Israel implement its plans, on the same rule as al-Shaara in Syria, i.e. they will not interfere. But the text says a lot – if it tells the fact – about what is happening behind the scenes.

Although key arabian states have condemned the war in the Gaza Strip, the aforementioned silently mentioned ones have extended safety cooperation with the Israeli army, as revealed by US documents. This task had a (minute) wavering erstwhile Israel attacked Qatar in early September, but as the Washington Post says, "now can play a key function in overseeing the emerging ceasefire in the Gaza Strip".

A erstwhile authoritative of the U.S. Ministry of Defence, quoted in the text, speaking subject to anonymity to discuss delicate military issues, stated that these actions reflect the pragmatic ties of the Gulf States to Israel—and their respect for its military power. "Everyone seems to think that the Israelis can do whatever they want erstwhile they want, without detection," said the erstwhile official.

"There is large concern in the Gulf States about what the freed Israel will do," said Thomas Juneau, prof. at the University of Ottawa, besides quoted in a text whose investigation focuses on safety issues in the mediate East – "At the same time, however, they trust on the United States as a warrant of their safety... and are besides very afraid about Iran."

I have translated any key passages of the article (quote): Over the last 3 years, with the support of the United States, high-ranking military officers from Israel and six arabian countries have met at planning meetings in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar.

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday the first phase of the peace agreement which will lead to the release of all the hostages held by Hamas and the partial withdrawal of Israel from Gaza. US representatives announced Thursday that 200 U.S. troops would be sent to Israel to support the ceasefire agreement. They will be joined by soldiers from respective arabian countries who participated in this long-term safety cooperation.

Even before this announcement, arabian countries active in safety cooperation signalled their support for president Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. The plan involves the participation of arabian states in the deployment of global forces in the Gaza Strip to train the fresh Palestinian police in the region. In a joint statement, 5 of the six arabian countries stated that they supported the creation of a mechanics that would "guarantee the safety of all parties", but did not decide to make a public commitment to send the armed forces.

Qatar, whose capital was attacked on 9 September with Israeli missiles aimed at Hamas leaders, was 1 of the countries that quietly tightened ties with the Israeli army. The papers show that in May 2024 high-ranking Israeli and arabian military officers gathered at Al-Udeid Air Base, the major American military facility in Qatar. The planning document, drawn up 2 days before its commencement, indicates that the Israeli delegation was to fly straight to the air base, bypassing the catharic civilian entry points that could uncover this information. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanjahu On September 29, he apologized to Qatar for the attack, at the request of the Trump administration, and promised that he would not carry out akin in the future.

The papers show that Iran's alleged threat was a driving force for closer ties, which was reinforced by the Central Command of the U.S. Armed Forces, known as Centcom. 1 paper identifies Iran and its allied militias as ‘Axi Evil’ and another contains a map of rocket missiles imposed on the Gaza Strip and Yemen, where Iran's allies rule. 5 PowerPoint Centcom presentations, obtained by the global Consortium of Investigative Journalists and reviewed by The Washington Post, describe in item the emergence of what the American Army calls the "Regional safety Construct". In addition to Israel and Qatar, this structure includes Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United arabian Emirates. papers shall be exchanged Kuwait and Oman as ‘potential partners’ who have been informed of all meetings.

The presentations were marked as public and handed over to the task partners, and in any cases besides to the 5 Eyes intelligence alliance, consisting of Australia, Canada, fresh Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. They were written between 2022 and 2025, before and after Israel started the war in Gaza in October 2023 (...)

Centcom representatives refused to comment on this article. Israel and six arabian countries, which are part of the construct, besides did not respond to the request for comment. 1 of the meetings, in peculiar in January, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, owned by the U.S. Army, about an hour's drive from Nashville, included sessions during which US forces trained partners to detect and neutralize the threats posed by underground tunnels – Hamas' key tool against the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. Another paper describes partners from six countries participating in the underground tunnel demolition training, but their names are not mentioned.

Centcom staff besides held planning meetings to launch information operations aimed at overthrowing Iran's communicative as a regional defender of Palestinians, as well as, in accordance with the 2025 document, "proposing a partnership communicative on regional prosperity and cooperation".

Even erstwhile safety cooperation with Israel developed behind closed doors, arabian leaders condemned the war in Gaza. The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia stated that the Israeli run was equivalent to genocide. Qatar's leaders issued any of the most crushing condemnations: at the United Nations General Assembly in September, the Qatar emir called the conflict "a genocide war against the Palestinian people" and accused Israel of being "a state hostile to its environment, an accessory to the construction of the apartheid system". The Saudi Ministry of abroad Affairs condemned Israel in August for what it referred to as the "famine" and "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians.

Emile Hokayem, Regional safety manager at Think Tank International Institute for strategical Studies, said the United States has long hoped that military cooperation will lead to normalisation of political relations between Israel and arabian states. However, although silent cooperation with the military leaders of these countries may avoid delicate political discussions, this approach "overshadows or conceals the reality" of tensions between the parties.

These tensions, as Hokay said, were full visible after the Israeli attack on Qatar. "A key associate of American efforts attacked another, and America is seen as complacent, complicit or blind," he said. "The resulting distrust will mark American efforts for many years".

Quiet partnership. American military officials publically confirmed the existence of a partnership, but did not comment on the scope of Israeli-Arab cooperation in this area. In 2022 General Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, Centcom's then commander, described the partnership in evidence before legislature as an action "based on the impetuousness of Abraham's understandings", an agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco, the United arabian Emirates and Bahrain.

The papers show how in the last 3 years the central component of the project, an air defence plan aimed at combating Iranian rocket and drones, has moved from explanation to practice. Israel and the arabian countries signed the plan at a safety conference in 2022, agreeing to coordinate military exercises and acquisition equipment to enable this plan to be implemented. According to the disclosed documents, by 2024 Centcom successfully merged many partner countries with its systems, allowing them to supply data from U.S. Army radars and sensors, and thus browse the combined data of partners.

However, the air defence strategy did not defend Qatar from Israel's attack on its capital on 9 September. U.S. satellite and radar systems did not supply an early informing against the attack, said U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Derek France to reporters, as these systems “usually focus on Iran and another [areas] from which we anticipate an attack”. Qatar reported that its radar systems besides failed to detect rocket launch by Israeli fighters. Although Qatar and Saudi Arabia do not keep formal diplomatic relations with Israel, Centcom papers show how crucial the function behind the scenes has been played by both powerful Gulf states in this emerging partnership.

The safety conference, held in May 2024 at the Al-Udeid Air Base, highlighted enhanced cooperation. Israeli officials held bilateral discussions with representatives of each of the participating arabian countries. Saudi Arabia played an active function in this cooperation, sharing with Israel and arabian intelligence partners on a wide scope of safety issues. During the gathering in 2025, a Saudi arabian typical and an American intelligence typical presented to their partners a "search of intelligence" on political developments in Syria, including the function of Russia, Turkey and the Kurdish forces in the country. The briefing besides addressed threats from Iran-supported Huti militant groups in Yemen and the activities of the muslim State in Syria and Iraq.

Centcom's military planners are working to strengthen ties between Israel and the arabian states in the coming years.

The information paper of 2024 predicted the creation of the “Common mediate East Cybernetic Center” by the end of 2026, which would service as the office for education and exercises in defensive cybernetic operations. Another paper called for the creation of a "Information Fusion Centre" that would enable partners to "swiftly plan, implement and measure operations in the information environment" (...)

Israel and Hamas seemingly only agreed to the preliminary stages of the peace agreement, leaving unresolved broader issues about how Gaza was governed. safety analysts have stated that Gulf states could supply financial and diplomatic support to global forces in Gaza, but would most likely refrain from engaging their own armed forces in this complex and dangerous mission...

developed Maria Pioch