Back

Key Middle East Provisions in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act

- Friday, December 12, 2025 by Matthew Kenney and Eric Zalcman and |
Share:

A successful end is in sight for the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after the House approved the bill in a strong bipartisan vote of 312-112 on Wednesday. The NDAA remains one of the few pieces of must-pass legislation each year, enabling robust congressional oversight of the Department of Defense (DOD) and framing U.S. national security policy on a bipartisan basis across a broad spectrum of issues. With Congress having reconciled differences between earlier House and Senate drafts (H.R.3838 and S.2296), the final NDAA must now be approved by the Senate and presented to President Donald Trump for his signature before the year’s end to become law.

More than two dozen provisions addressing U.S. national security interests in the Middle East are included in this year’s bill. Many were inspired or informed by JINSA research and recommendations, including:

    • Improvements to Middle East Air and Missile Defense: The bill strongly encourages DOD to strengthen Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) efforts with U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East by incorporating lessons learned from the April and October 2024 Iranian missile attacks against Israel, the 12-Day War, and Houthi maritime attacks against international shipping. This provision was drafted based on recommendations in JINSA’s “Forged Under Fire: Middle East Air Defense After Iran’s 2024 Attacks on Israel”
    • Countering Wrongful Detention Act: Directly inspired by JINSA’s groundbreaking “Rethinking U.S. Hostage Policy in Gaza and Beyond” report, which called for tougher penalties and international coordination to curb hostage-taking, and briefings to Congress in 2024 to create a new “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention” designation for countries like Iran. This provision will increase deterrence by enhancing American capabilities to penalize countries that wrongfully detain American citizens.
    • S.-Israel Defense Industrial Base Cooperation: Aligning with recommendations in JINSA’s trailblazing “Partners in Production: U.S.-Middle East Cooperation to Enhance Our Collective Defense Industrial Base” report, the final bill directs DOD to establish a United States-Israel Defense Industrial Base Working Group within 90 days to identify opportunities for deeper industrial integration between the two nations and assess the feasibility and policy requirements for adding Israel to the U.S. National Technology and Industrial Base (NTIB).
    • Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar: The final bill requires a briefing on force protection measures in place to protect American servicemen at Al Udeid Air Base in the aftermath of Iran’s strikes on the facility on June 23, 2025. Prior to Operation Midnight Hammer against Iran’s nuclear facilities, DOD redeployed all but the 44 American soldiers from the base needed to operate two Patriot missile batteries, confirming JINSA’s contention that in many respects “America’s Air Force Base in Qatar is a Liability,” not an asset.
    • War Reserve Stockpile Allies – Israel (WRSA-I): The bill mandates an updated assessment of the types of munitions in America’s war reserve stockpile in Israel, essential for maintaining regional deterrence and allied interoperability within CENTCOM and for Israel to protect itself. JINSA has consistently emphasized the value of “The Arsenal of Democracy’s Stockpile in Israel.”

Click here to read the full analysis.