Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense of the United States and Grant Shapps, Secretary of Defense of the United Kingdom
On Wednesday, January 31 (11 a.m.), Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense of the United States, will discuss the security threats in the Middle East with Grant Shapps, the Minister of Defense of the United Kingdom.
According to the statement of the United States Department of Defense, the two Pentagon officials discussed the escalation of attacks by Iranian-backed militia groups against American forces in the Middle East, attacks by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, humanitarian aid for Gaza, and support for Ukraine against Russia. .
Pat Reeder, the spokesman for the United States Department of Defense, said that Lloyd Austin expressed his gratitude to his British counterpart for supporting and leading the efforts of the coalition to prevent further aggression by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
British and American forces have launched joint operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
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Since the middle of October last year, when the war between Israel and Hamas intensified, armed groups linked to Iran have carried out 165 attacks on American forces and the international coalition in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
Most of these groups are against the US support of Israel in the war in Gaza and the presence of American forces in the region.
Two days ago, a drone attack on a military base in Jordan killed three American soldiers and injured more than 40 others.
Washington has said that if this attack was carried out by the “Islamic Resistance of Iraq” group, it will soon launch retaliatory attacks.
John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said that other partners of the United States in the region and member countries of the international coalition will not accompany the United States in retaliatory attacks.