Gallant, Austin talk upping cooperation on Iran as US said close to interim nuke deal

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed expanding bilateral Israel-US cooperation against Iran in a meeting in Europe on Thursday, as Washington is reported to be closing in on an interim nuclear deal with Tehran that would aim to reduce the risk of military confrontation in the Middle East. These efforts are said to have Israel’s approval.

Gallant and Austin met on the sidelines of a gathering of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday and agreed to work together to “address the wide range of threats posed by Iran,” according to a readout from the US Department of Defense. These threats include Iran’s “nuclear program, destabilizing regional activities, and proliferation of uncrewed aerial systems and other lethal assistance” to the Middle East and to Russia, which has been deploying Iranian-made attack drones in Ukraine for close to a year. READ MORE