In meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials in Tel Aviv on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to increase US support for Israel’s security and warned of increased Russian-Iranian cooperation in the battlefield in Ukraine while urging Israel to de-escalate tensions with the Palestinians.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Netanyahu’s military secretary Avi Gil also took part in the meeting with Austin. The location was switched to Ben Gurion Airport from the Defense Ministry on short notice due to scheduled protests.
The defense chief stayed on-message despite the itinerary disruption, reiterating the Biden administration’s vow to collaborate with Israel to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and also warning of the dangers of escalating violence in the West Bank, which officials in Washington increasingly worry could undermine shared US-Israeli efforts to align a regional bulwark to contain Iran.
He and the Israeli leaders “agreed to increase cooperation to confront Iranian aggression” in the region, according to a Pentagon readout of the meeting, and emphasized “the lethal consequences” of Iran’s provision of armed drones to Russia for use in Ukraine as well as the potential for Russian tech transfer back to Tehran.
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