U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant agreed in a phone call on Monday that an attack by Iranian proxies on American troops at an Iraqi airbase marked a “dangerous escalation.”
Austin also reiterated the “unwavering U.S. commitment to Israel’s security in the face of threats from Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned militia groups,” according to the Pentagon.
At least five U.S. personnel were wounded, one seriously, when two Katyusha rockets were fired on Monday at the Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing U.S. officials. An Iraqi official said that the rockets fell inside the base. A picture taken shortly after the nighttime attack appeared to show smoke rising from the facility.
“Secretary Austin and Minister Gallant agreed that today’s Iran-aligned militia attack on U.S. forces stationed at Al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq marked a dangerous escalation and demonstrated Iran’s destabilizing role in the region,” according to the Pentagon readout of the call.
Some 2,500 American troops are stationed in Iraq, while some 900 are stationed in Syria.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were updated on the Al-Asad strike during a meeting in the Situation Room on Monday with the White House’s national security team.
“They discussed the steps we are taking to defend our forces and respond to any attack against our personnel in a manner and place of our choosing,” according to a White House statement.
The Pentagon on Friday announced a series of measures it was taking to boost the U.S. military posture in the Middle East region to defend Israel against expected retaliatory strikes by Iran and its proxies.
On Monday, U.S. defense officials said that two destroyers, the USS Laboon and USS Cole, have shifted from the Gulf of Oman to the Red Sea.
In addition to boosting Naval forces, the Pentagon is deploying more fighter jets to the region.
According to the Reuters report, it is unclear whether the attack on the U.S. base in Iraq is connected to Tehran’s threats of revenge for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital last week. Hezbollah has also vowed to attack Israel for the killing of senior official Fuad Shukr in Beirut last week.
The regime in Tehran said that the U.S. bears responsibility for the Haniyeh killing due to its support for Israel. For its part, Israel has not commented on the assassination of the Hamas leader. The Israeli military did take responsibility for the targeting killing of Shukr.
A U.S. official told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that the Pentagon expects more attacks by pro-Iranian militias in the region in the coming days. The official “stressed that growing tensions in the region are making the militias feel less restrained by Iran to attack U.S. forces than they were in recent months.”
Gallant meets CENTCOM commander
Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), met with Gallant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday.
The three “discussed the coordination of defense activities and ways to expand the international coalition facing aggressive actions by Iran and its proxies,” said Gallant.
Gallant thanked Kurilla and the American defense establishment led by Austin for standing with Israel and acting to strengthen its defensive capabilities.
The U.S. general’s visit was “a direct translation of U.S. support for Israel, into action. The relationship between Israel and the United States is unshakeable,” he said, according to his office.
Kurilla’s Middle East trip was previously planned, but its focus was shifted in light of the Islamic Republic’s pledge to retaliate for the Haniyeh killing. It will now center on building a multilateral defensive alliance similar to the one that fended off the vast majority of the more than 300 missiles and drones Iran fired at the Jewish state in mid-April.
Biden, Harris briefed on pending Iranian attack
The president convened his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Monday afternoon to discuss the developments in the Middle East.
Biden and Harris were told that it is still unclear when Iran and Hezbollah will launch their attacks against Israel and the specific details of what they could entail, three U.S. officials told Ravid.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are briefed in the White House Situation Room on Aug. 5, 2024. Credit: White House.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries on Sunday that Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel in the next 24 to 48 hours, but Monday’s assessment in the Situation Room was more nuanced, according to U.S. officials.
Security officials told Biden and Harris that the estimate is that the attack will come in two waves—one from Hezbollah, and another from Iran and its terror proxies.
According to U.S. intelligence, it is still unclear who will attack first, when it will happen and how it will look. One U.S. official told Axios that the intelligence indicates that the attack plans are “still a work in progress,” and that both Iran and Hezbollah have not decided on their exact actions. JNS