Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant this morning about the destabilizing threats posed by Iran, its partners, and proxies. The Secretary reiterated ironclad U.S. support for Israel's security and informed the Minister of additional measures, to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes, that the Department will take to support the defense of Israel. Secretary Austin highlighted that further escalation is not inevitable and that all countries in the region would benefit from a de-escalation in tensions, including through completing a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. However, he also stressed that the unprecedented scale of U.S. support for Israel since October 7 should leave Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups with no doubt about U.S. resolve.