Gen. Erik ‘Gorilla' Kurilla—Not Pete Hegseth—Leading U.S. Military On Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly deferred authority on the U.S. military's involvement in the Middle East to Gen. Erik Kurilla, the U.S. Central Command chief known as 'The Gorilla' who served earlier tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and an Iran hawk, who has pressed for a more aggressive response in the region.
Kurilla, appointed as the head of U.S. Central Command by Joe Biden, has become the apparent go-to ... More advisor for the Trump administration in the Middle East.
Kurilla, a Biden appointee, has become the leading adviser on the Middle East over other Department of Defense officials, and he has held an audience with President Donald Trump more than any other general, Politico reported, citing unnamed former and current defense officials.
Hegseth has yet to turn down a request from Kurilla for more military assets in the Middle East, including new fighter planes, a person familiar with their dynamic told Politico, despite resistance to sending more weapons from Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Pentagon's policy chief Elbridge Colby.
Dan Caldwell, a former adviser to Hegseth, told 'Breaking Points' that Kurilla has a 'fundamentally different view on the importance of the Middle East' than other officials in the Trump administration, adding Kurilla likely believes a 'military campaign against Iran will not be as costly as others.'
Caldwell suggested Kurilla was likely becoming more vocal as his three-year tenure as CENTCOM chief nears its end.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell disputed Hegseth's deference to Kurilla, telling Politico in a statement Hegseth 'empowers all of his combatant commanders the same way, by decentralizing command and harnessing their real-world expertise,' while another defense official said Kurilla and Caine have a 'hand in glove relationship.'
During a congressional hearing earlier this month, Kurilla said he presented a 'wide range of options' to Hegeth and Trump to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. When asked if CENTCOM would respond with overwhelming force if Iran failed to give up its nuclear program, Kurilla responded, 'Yes.'
Kurilla was the subject of a U.S. Army-led investigation after he allegedly pushed a subordinate service member during a trip to the Middle East in 2024. Three unnamed U.S. officials told NBC News that Kurilla allegedly shoved an airman when Kurilla was asked to sit down during a flight to Israel. CENTCOM said at the time that officials were not aware of an investigation into Kurilla.
Kurilla, 59, is an Elk River, Minnesota, native who was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in 1988, according to CENTCOM. A West Point graduate, Kurilla was deployed to Panama in 1989, the Gulf War in 1990, and to Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. He has been awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with valor in 2005 for leading U.S. troops in Iraq. Kurilla was nominated to lead CENTCOM under President Joe Biden in 2022, after previously commanding the 82nd Airborne Division and serving as CENTCOM's chief of staff.
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