US Army General Michael E. Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM, said Thursday that the convergence of crisis and competition make the CENTCOM area of responsibility the most likely region to produce threats against the US homeland, trigger a regional conflict and derail the national defense strategy.
His remarks came in a warning signaling a possible "strategic shift" in US policies towards the Middle East, years after Washington has been accused of abandoning the Middle East or at least not prioritizing it.
Iran Exploiting Region
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization request and the future years defense program, Kurilla said that just a year ago, the region was on the verge of improbable, unprecedented, and transformative progress.
Today, he said, the central region faces its most volatile security situation in the past half century.
The Commander said this is not the same central region as last year. “The events of 7 October not only permanently changed Israel and Gaza, it created the conditions for malign actors to sow instability throughout the region and beyond.”
According to Kurilla, “Iran exploited what they saw as a once in a generation opportunity to reshape the Middle East to their advantage. Iran has worked for decades to strategically encircle the region with its proxies, and in the past six months, we have seen every proxy in the Iranian threat network operationalized in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, and Yemen.”
He also said Iran knows that its decade-long vision cannot be realized if countries in the region continue to expand integration with each other and deepen their partnership with the United States.
The Commander then revealed that Iran's expansive network of proxies is equipped with advanced sophisticated weaponry and threatens some of the most vital terrain in the world, with global and US implications.
He added that Houthi attacks on international shipping and Iranian aligned militia attacks on our forces in Iraq and Syria are a direct result of an Iranian threat that has been incrementally spreading.
Crucial Area for America
Kurilla told the Senate that the CENTCOM region also remains critical to the world's energy supply and remains essential for the flow of global commerce.
“CENTCOM provides strategic depth to our defense of the homeland, and Americans' security and prosperity are at risk if we cede this space to Iran, terrorism, and China,” he said.
He then mentioned the increasing risk of ISIS attacks emanating from Afghanistan. “ISIS Khorasan retains the capability and will to attack US and Western interests abroad in as little as six months and with little to no warning,” the Commander noted.
The ISIS Khorasan region encompasses parts of modern day Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Kurilla affirmed that the US should focus on optimizing talents and highlighting character and competence to its partners, “as their strategic advantage remains our strong military-to-military partnerships, while our adversaries and competitors rely on parasitic transactional relationships.”
Highlighting Iran’s role in the Ukrainian war, Kurilla said Tehran has developed a full-scale production pipeline for supplying weapons to Russia, fueling their war on Ukraine.
Pressures from China and Russia
Speaking of the rivalry with China, Kurilla said strategic competition has also continued to evolve across the region.
“China and Russia are quick to capitalize on destabilizing influences. They have shown meager interest or capability to reduce regional tensions, but rather they have increased their efforts to pressurize regional partners across all elements of national power,” he said.
Also at the committee hearing on Thursday, Michael Langley, Commander of the US Africa Command, said that Africa faces a range of crises including terrorism, poverty, food insecurity, climate change and mass migration.
“These factors sow the seas of violent extremism and Russian exploitation across entire regions of the continent,” he said, adding that in Africa, modest investments and resources go a long way towards achieving our national security interests.
“Africa faces many challenges, but also offers even more opportunities,” Langley said, adding that with Washington’s “African partners at the forefront, reinforced by our efforts and the efforts of our allies, we will continue to gain ground towards achieving lasting stability, security and prosperity on this crucial continent.”
