US, Gulf nations officials discuss regional threats and counter capabilities

Middle East, News, US February 15, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

A U.S. delegation is traveling to Saudi Arabia from February 13 to 16 to participate in the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Working Group meetings. U.S. Defense Department led two working groups on air and missile defense and on maritime security.

The U.S. and GCC experts held discussions on emerging threats and security concerns for the region. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East said that the main threats are those posed by Iran.

“There is the proliferation of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles to non-state actors across the region, which are threats to both civilians of Gulf nations and to U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria who are conducting the counter-ISIS mission,” the Department of Defense statement read.  Stroul said that “Iranian aggression at sea also remains a serious concern” for the U.S. and GCC allies.

“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,” Stroul added.

GCC officials also briefed on their efforts to bolster defense cooperation with the United States, leading to a substantive exchange that identified multilateral solutions to advance shared interests. The Pentagon statement read that: “Participants acknowledged mutual interest in enhancing regional stability by fostering cooperative security and eliminating existing gaps exploited by state and non-state actors.”

“They also aim to incorporate bilateral activities, operations, and investments into a regional, multilateral approach. By working together to achieve these two objectives, GCC and member states will build a more networked architecture for enhanced collective defense in the Gulf,” the statement added.

^{The Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs and Negotiations at the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council meets with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul. (Image Credit: Twitter/@@GCCSG)}

The U.S. and GCC working groups also discussed military cooperation between Iran and Russia, including “the illicit transfer of Iranian weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine and the implications of that for stability and security in the Middle East,” the U.S. deputy assistant secretary said.

According to the Department of Defense statement, the discussions at the working group focused on the status of air and missile defense systems that are in place, the possibility for increased intelligence sharing and early warning in the future, and the evaluation of partners’ systems and capabilities to devising a more effective, layered air defense. 

During discussions on air and missile defense, the partners agreed to increase integration between different systems currently used in the Gulf.  Stroul said that “There has been no other moment in time in which the prospect for meaningful integration is more real than today. 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 [U.S. Central Command] is fostering together with its partners.”

^{A CH-47 Chinook flown by U.S. Army pilots of 2nd Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment, General Support Aviation Battalion, 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, loading Norwegian Telemark Battalion Soldiers, Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 11, 2023. (Image Credit: US Army/Sgt. Julio Hernandez)}

The Pentagon statement highlighted that “Due to the clear threat to regional security and stability, preventing Iran from holding the region at risk through its proliferation and direct use of advanced ballistic missiles, maritime weapons, and unmanned systems is of the utmost importance. The United States and GCC members agreed on the shared objectives of improving collective early warning, streamlining coordination against shared threats, and building towards regional integration.”

The U.S. deputy assistant secretary also highlighted that the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is working to expand “maritime domain awareness and bringing together partners through its combined task forces to address threats” to enhance overall maritime security.