p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 15.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #040404; -webkit-text-stroke: #040404} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #0463c1; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #0463c1} The US military is changing up its Middle East war games to deal with perceived Iranian threats short of entering into armed conflict, Al-Monitor has learned.

The Pentagon notified Congress in July about adjustments to deal with “the multidimensional aspects of gray zone warfare,” the Pentagon’s catch-all term for military operations that don’t cross into open warfare. While the report doesn’t mention Iran by name, the term “gray zone” is often associated with Iranian tactics.

The report comes on the heels of a 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) in January announcing that the Pentagon would seek to build a coalition of military allies in the Middle East to “counterbalance Iran,” which it fears is “asserting an arc of terrorist activities” bolstered by using proxies and its missile program.

“USCENTCOM is adjusting the program to align with the 2018 NDS,” reads the congressional notification, which was sent by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Congress.