Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas are significantly degraded, but they could pose future problems by “going underground”, the nominee to head the US Central Command said on Tuesday.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper was speaking before a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing focused on his selection to lead Centcom, which is tasked with overseeing US military interests and assets in the Middle East.
“As we've seen throughout the region, groups are going underground, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis. This is a serious issue that we will have to look at in the future,” he said.
He added that, having visited Israel's subterranean commando unit that goes after groups that operate from tunnels, he suggested focusing on sensors and ammunition to combat the threat.
Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza and is engaged in a protracted war with Israel, relies on an extensive network of tunnels. Using these tunnels, the group has been able to carry out attacks – including the 2023 offensive on southern Israel – build weapons, and smuggle materials and people throughout the coastal enclave and even across borders.
“Whether we're talking about Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, the Iranians, other adversaries are clearly watching and see where they can gain advantage,” Vice Admiral Cooper said.
With regard to Iran, Vice Admiral Cooper acknowledged the possibility of an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz but said Centcom was ready to respond.
“It is a complex problem, for sure, but it's a small, narrow waterway,” he told senators. “The key to this is getting to the left of the problem, establishing a deterrent posture, which we have today, and then keeping our eyes on Iranian activity.”
Iran's Parliament on Sunday threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about 20 per cent of the world's petroleum is shipped, in response to US strikes on Tehran's nuclear infrastructure a day earlier. Closing it could have dire consequences for global energy markets.
Senators raised the idea that Iran could attempt to lay mines across the strait, blocking commercial traffic, and asked how quickly the US could respond. Vice Admiral Cooper said the specifics were highly classified, “but historically in mine warfare, nothing happens quickly – I think we would think of this in terms of weeks and months, not days”.
The US on Saturday carried out an attack against three sites that make up the core of Iran's nuclear programme, out of fear the country had been close to developing a nuclear weapon. Israel launched a “pre-emptive” attack on Iran days earlier, with the stated goal of stopping it from building a nuclear weapon.
A damage assessment is continuing and it is unclear whether the strikes resulted in the obliteration of Iran's uranium enrichment capabilities, as has been claimed by the White House.
But Vice Admiral Cooper said the world is a safer place with Iran being pushed farther away from building a nuclear weapon.
He added, however, that Iran still has “significant tactical capability” despite the strike, as demonstrated by its limited retaliatory missile strike on a US military base in Qatar. Responding to a senator who asked whether Tehran still poses a threat to US troops and Americans, he said: “They do.”
On the Iran-backed Houthis, with the ceasefire between the Yemeni group and the US having lasted 40 days, Vice Admiral Cooper said the ball was in their court.
“We're prepared for a range of actions, but I think the policies associated with the ceasefire remain in place, and we'll just be prepared, from a military perspective, for a wide range of contingencies,” he said, noting that freedom of navigation has been restored to the Red Sea.
US President Donald Trump ordered an intense, daily bombing campaign of Houthi positions in Yemen after the group continued to launch strikes against commercial shipping. The Houthis, who are allied to Hamas, began striking commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea with the advent of the Israel-Gaza war, vowing to target any ship believed to be connected to Israel.
Despite the ceasefire and restored freedom of navigation, Vice Admiral Cooper cautioned that “it took several months for the flow of commerce to leave the Red Sea; I would expect it's going to take several months for it to fully come back”.
Lt Gen Alexus Grynkewich, who appeared alongside Vice Admiral Cooper to make his case for becoming Supreme Allied Commander Europe, added that the “Houthis are likely to be a persistent problem”.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More coverage from the Future Forum
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
FORSPOKEN
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Starfield
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The five pillars of Islam
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WITHIN%20SAND
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')
Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')
Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
New schools in Dubai
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sunday's fixtures
- Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
- Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
The years Ramadan fell in May
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (All UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (11.30pm)
Saturday
Union Berlin v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
FA Augsburg v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Werder Bremen (6.30pm)
SC Paderborn v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Monchengladbach (9.30pm)
Sunday
Cologne v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
Mainz v FC Schalke (9pm)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')
Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
