WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Wednesday met with his British counterpart Grant Shapps at the Pentagon for talks on security threats in the Middle East, according to the Pentagon.
The two leaders discussed issues such as “escalating attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US troops in the Middle East” and “illegal Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea”, as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza and support for Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“Secretary Austin thanked Minister Shapps for the UK’s unwavering support and leadership in coalition efforts to deter further Houthi aggression while defending maritime and international merchant vessels exercising navigational rights and freedoms,” Ryder said, referring to Iran’s attacks on shipping, supported the Yemeni rebels.
US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target vessels passing through a key trade route in the Red Sea – attacks that the rebels say serve to bolster Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.
US and allied forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have been attacked more than 165 times since mid-October, many of them claimed by a loose alliance of armed groups linked to Iran, which opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict and Washington’s presence in the region.
On Sunday, a drone struck a military base in northeastern Jordan, killing three U.S. soldiers and wounding more than 40 — the first U.S. military death in an attack in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas began in early October.
Washington blamed the attack on Iranian-backed militants and vowed a strong response.
