Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant cancels Pentagon visit
Al Jazeera
The cancelled trip comes as the region braces for Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attack.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has cancelled plans to meet US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as the region braces for an expected response by Israel to Iran’s missile attack last week.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that Gallant had called off his visit.
The Pentagon declined to comment on reports that the trip was dropped because Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to sign off on it until he gets “a phone call” with President Joe Biden, and the Israeli cabinet approves the response to Iran.
“I am going to stay out of Israeli politics,” Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters at a news briefing. “I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
Austin and Gallant have a “great relationship,” Singh added, and have spoken more than 80 times. “You can have frank, … direct conversations with your friends, you’re not always going to agree on everything but that doesn’t mean that there’s tensions,” she said.
