Chief of Staff Bagheri, referring to CENTCOM’s inclusion of Israel to its area of responsibility, emphasised that “such a development means that the espionage and operational capacities of the U.S. and its allies will be at the disposal of the Zionist regime [ie, Israel] as well, which would in turn add to the threats against Iran”. “Apart from the written announcements and warnings and conveying messages… to the countries hosting the U.S. army, we have declared and continue to declare our preparedness and warnings by extending presence, expanding aerial and naval patrols, deepening the intelligence dominance and holding various naval, missile and drone war games”, Bagheri said, adding: “regional security requires fraternity and cooperation among the regional countries themselves without reliance on outsiders”.