Developments over the past two days point to an effort by the British, the Israelis, and their allies in Washington to rapidly escalate the U.S.-Israeli war of aggression against Iran into a full-fledged regional conflict. Efforts are underway to induce Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to accept Israeli and British offers of “help” to reopen the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which the Houthis recently brought under their control.

Axios’s Barak Ravid, citing leaks from Israeli sources, reported on Wednesday that U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Bradley Cooper convened a meeting of top Arab military chiefs, along with the head of the IDF, in a private meeting in Germany to discuss the war with Iran and broader tensions in the region. In addition to Cooper, the meeting was attended by the military chiefs of staff of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt.

According to Ravid’s Israeli sources, Cooper reassured the group that the U.S. military would not withdraw its forces from the region, despite Iranian attacks on U.S. bases. An Israeli official said Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir briefed the other participants on IDF operations on various fronts. CENTCOM confirmed the meeting in a statement, but said little about it. “The leaders discussed opportunities for enhancing security cooperation in the Middle East,” it said.

A source with knowledge of the matter also told Ravid that Israel and Saudi Arabia—with the assistance of CENTCOM—are discussing how Israel could support Saudi military operations against the Houthis and provide ISR assistance modeled on its support for the UAE.