In a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, CENTCOM commander Joseph Votel noted that "Iran exerts its malign influence throughout the region, through its increased - often unprofessional - activities in the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, engaging in proxy warfare through its sponsorship of violent extremist organisations (VEOs) and proliferating advanced conventional weapons, including theatre ballistic missiles and weaponised unmanned aerial and maritime systems. Operating in the grey zone of competition below open conflict, Iran conducts unfettered information and cyber campaigns against its adversaries and actively attempts to influence or obstruct the mechanisms of effective governance and domestic policies of several of its sovereign regional neighbours". Looking ahead, Votel assessed that "Iran will continue to seek to expand its political influence and military presence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen and to threaten international trade and regional stability throughout the Central Region".