United States – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed yesterday, Monday, that his country “does not seek escalation, but will continue to defend Israel.”
This came in a phone call between Austin and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister Fahd Yousef Saud Al-Sabah, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of Interior, to discuss the Iranian military response to Israel.
A statement published by the US Department of Defense on its website said, “Austin assured his Kuwaiti counterpart that the United States does not seek escalation, but we will continue to defend Israel and the Americans.”
The US Minister reiterated his emphasis on the “strong” bilateral defense partnership between the United States and Kuwait.
On Saturday evening, Iran launched regarding 350 missiles and drones towards Israel, of which Tel Aviv claimed to have intercepted 99 percent, while Tehran said that half of the missiles hit Israeli targets “successfully.”
This is the first attack launched by Iran directly from its territory on Israel, and not through groups loyal to it in Lebanon, and it came in response to an attack targeting the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus at the beginning of this April.
Tehran accuses Tel Aviv of launching the Damascus missile attack, which resulted in the killing of 7 members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, including prominent General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, while Tel Aviv did not officially acknowledge or deny its responsibility for the attack.
Anatolia
#Austin #seek #escalation #continue #defend #Israel
2024-04-16 22:12:34