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The Security Briefing: Pentagon talks tech with Israelis

In this weekly newsletter, Jared Szuba rounds up the biggest security stories from the Middle East.

(L to R) Israel's Defence Minister Benny Gantz, US President Joe Biden and Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, stand in front of Israel's Iron Dome defence system during a tour at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on July 13, 2022.
(L to R) Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz, US President Joe Biden and Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, stand in front of Israel's Iron Dome defense system during a tour at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on July 13, 2022. — GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

A delegation of senior Pentagon officials spent this week in Israel discussing the latest breakthroughs in defense technology and US strategy vis-a-vis Iran before heading to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Wednesday's meetings — led on the US side by Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl — marked the second round thus far of the US-Israeli Operations Technology Working Group (OTWG), established last November with bipartisan support from Congress.

"We learn from Israel as much as they learn from us. It's a mutually beneficial relationship,” a senior US defense official told reporters last week at the Pentagon ahead of the visit.

Kahl’s delegation is poised to carry word of further opportunities to work alongside the Israeli and US militaries during meetings with Emirati officials led by Lt. Gen. Eissa Mazroeui early next week....

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