Pentagon chief praises Middle East allies, calls Israel ‘model ally’

Washington’s allies in the Middle East have shown their willingness to use their own capabilities “in support of our collective defense,” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday.

Hegseth said burden-sharing was a key part of the US strategy.

“Our allies and partners in the region can do much to advance our shared interests—and they are increasingly doing exactly that,” Hegseth said in his written remarks to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), calling Israel a “model ally.”

Yet, Hegseth praised other countries in the region without naming any specific one. “Others in the region have similarly invested in their own capabilities and demonstrated that they are able and willing to use them to good effect in support of our collective defense,” he said alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “We will build on this progress and these relationships with an eye toward a lasting regional peace, to be achieved and sustained from a position of unquestionable military strength,” he said.

For his part, Gen. Gaine said Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon’s name for the US war on Iran, had used space and cyber capabilities to disrupt and degrade Iran’s communication and air defense networks. In his written statement to the committee, Gen. Caine said this enabled the US military to strike over 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours using cruise missiles and over 100 aircraft.

“As a result of Operations Rough Rider, Midnight Hammer, and Epic Fury, the Iranian regime, their military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and their network of regional proxies, are weaker and less capable than they have been in decades. As always, the Joint Force remains postured to conduct further military operations if required,” Caine said.