U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed a possible retaliatory attack by Israel against Iran on Wednesday, saying Israel should limit itself to attacking Iranian military targets.
In an interview with Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Austin avoided commenting directly on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reliability as an ally. Austin addressed what he believed was Israel’s best course of action if it were to retaliate for a recent Iranian attack on Israel.
“Israel that chooses to do this targeting is going to be their choice. From my perspective, if you’re conducting a military strike, it ought to be against military targets,” Austin explained
“I won’t comment on the prime minister. What I will tell you is that our commitment is that we’re going to continue to support Israel in its right to defend itself,” Austin told Griffin. “Protecting civilians in a battle space and achieving military objectives are not mutually exclusive. Both Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah has made this tough fight in using civilians of shields, putting their military command posts underneath hospitals and schools and mosques. ”
Griffin also touched on a recent development where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote to Austin’s Israeli counterpart, warning of potential withholding of weapon shipments if Israel fails to establish humanitarian corridors into Gaza within the next 30 days. Austin declined to discuss specific correspondence but reiterated his long-standing commitment to humanitarian assistance for Palestinians.
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“Jen, I won’t comment on correspondence. What I will tell you is that my concern on providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians has been there from the very beginning,” Austin said.
The conversation turned to the broader Middle East conflict, particularly the U.S. military’s ongoing defense against Houthi attacks which have necessitated the rerouting of global shipping and elevated costs for consumers.
“We have been striking the Houthis on a near daily basis over the last many months, and our goal is to take away as much capability from the Houthis as possible. We will continue to do things to take away their capability on a daily basis,” Austin said.
Griffin concluded by discussing the financial implications of the U.S. military response to the Houthis, who have been employing low-cost drones and missiles against high-cost U.S. military interceptors.
“I can’t speak to the Houthi strategy. I’ll tell you what mine is. Mine is to make sure that the Houthis are not allowed to shut down the global commerce that’s moving through the Red Sea and the streets,” Austin answered.
The U.S. forces targeted Houthi underground weapons sites in Yemen last week, as confirmed by Central Command. This operation aimed to impair the group’s capability and prevent further threats to maritime security in the Red Sea and attacks in the broader Middle East, which have persisted since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.
The American and British military forces previously carried out airstrikes on over a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen, U.S. officials reported to The Associated Press. This coordinated assault was a response to the Houthis’ recent threats of intensified military actions against Israel and their disruption of Red Sea shipping lanes, following their downing
Featured Image Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Eve Daugherty
