Iran has criticised a US-led regional security meeting hosted by Bahrain, after senior military officials from 12 Middle Eastern countries met with US Central Command (CENTCOM) to discuss regional defence cooperation and maritime security.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, in a post on X, said Washington had “constantly demonstrated its complete contempt for genuine peace and security in West Asia,” dismissing such meetings as “nothing more than performative posturing”.

Baghaei accused Washington of seeking to conceal the US’s “destabilising policies and lawless behavior in the region” and urged regional states to “remain vigilant and draw clear lessons from the most recent US and Israeli military aggressions”.