In the wake of months of tensions between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the Pentagon’s top military official downplayed the potential for conflict with Tehran in his confirmation today.

Gen. Mark Milley, currently the Army’s top officer, said in Senate testimony that Iran’s military activity in the Middle East has increased since Trump opted to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018; the United States has blamed Tehran for the shootdown of an American surveillance drone in June and attacks on Emirati, Norwegian and Japanese tankers.

Milley pointed at Iran as the culprit behind the killing of troops under his command during the 2003 Iraq war, but said the possibility of a wider war in the region was unlikely. The Trump administration has ruled out more severe US military options that had been reported in the media.

"I don't think that would happen," he said, referencing the possibility of a war that might take the Pentagon’s focus away from major threats such as Russia and China. "I don't think anyone is seriously considering anything approaching [deploying 150,000 US troops]."