‘No better teammate than Israel’ – US CENTCOM chief

Admiral Brad Cooper says the allies have “exceeded” their military objectives in the war with Iran

US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper has praised Israel and Arab states hosting American bases as “exceptional” allies in the war against Iran. He made the remarks amid reports of a possible second round of peace talks this week, as a two-week truce is set to expire on Wednesday.

During a press conference with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on Thursday, Cooper hailed Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE as “exceptional teammates.”

“And there’s been no better teammate than Israel,” Cooper added.

“Together, the four best air forces in the world – the Israeli Air Force, the US Air Force, and the air forces of the US Navy and US Marine Corps – together met and exceeded our own military objectives over and over again,” Cooper said.

The admiral recalled that he met Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, late last month to ensure the two countries remained “closely aligned.”

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Democrats and some Republicans, as well as former US National Counterterrorism Center chief Joe Kent, have argued that US President Donald Trump had been pressured by Israel to launch the war against Iran. Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, have framed the conflict as Trump betraying his “America First” agenda in favor of “Israel First.”

Speaking alongside Cooper, Hegseth denied that the war had been “foisted upon” Trump by Israel. “President Trump makes his own decisions about the interests of this country and defending our interests, and then works with allies and partners – in this case Israel, which has a lot of will and a lot of capabilities, which we’re grateful for,” he said.

Kent, who resigned from his position last month in protest of the war, said intelligence agencies could not confirm Trump’s claim that Iran has been pursuing nuclear weapons.