We will “work hard to make sure that we’re doing things to help take the temperature down” in the Middle East, Lloyd Austin said.
The U.S. will defend Israel from incoming attacks, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said, as Israeli strikes kill two senior Iran-backed commanders and fears spike over wider conflict breaking out in the Middle East.
“If Israel is attacked, we certainly will help defend Israel”, U.S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, told the media aboard the USNS Millinocket during a visit to the Philippines. “You saw us do that in April; you can expect to see us do that again”, he said.
The U.S., along with other Israeli allies like the U.K. and France, were involved in intercepting an unprecedented Iranian drone and missile barrage fired at Israel from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen in mid-April. “We helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles”, U.S. President Joe Biden said at the time.
Washington has said it does not want to see escalation in the region, and the U.S. will “work hard to make sure that we’re doing things to help take the temperature down, and address issues through diplomatic means”, Austin said. But fears over escalation have been fueled by Israel saying late on Tuesday that it had carried out a “targeted strike” on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and killed a senior Hezbollah commander.
