Intel: CENTCOM chief tours Mideast in first trip under Biden administration
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie is scheduled to stop in Israel later this week as the Joe Biden administration seeks strategic dialogue to build on the Abraham Accords.
The commander of US military forces in the Middle East, Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, arrived in the region this week with plans to stop in Israel as the Joe Biden administration seeks strategic dialogue regarding Iran.
The Israeli press reported that McKenzie would meet with officials this coming Thursday. McKenzie’s arrival will mark the first US official visit to the Jewish State under the Biden administration and the general’s first since the Pentagon announced Israel would be incorporated into the US Central Command’s geographic region of responsibility.
Both the Pentagon and CENTCOM, which McKenzie leads, remained tight-lipped about the general’s trip abroad, in keeping with security precautions amid renewed threats by Iran’s leaders against American officials for the US killing of Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad last year.
A spokesperson for CENTCOM declined to comment on McKenzie’s travel plans, citing “operational security” concerns.
