U.S. military chief seeks to calm Middle East tensions amid rising threats
General Charles C.Q. Brown, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, began an unannounced visit to the Middle East on Saturday. The visit aims to ease tensions in the region at a time when Iran has announced retaliation against Israel.
His visit comes as the United States is trying to clinch an elusive Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Brown said would "help bring down the temperature" - Brown told Reuters before landing in Jordan, where he began his mission. The American commander is also scheduled to visit Israel and Egypt.
Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah have repeatedly announced that they will retaliate for the attacks at the end of July, carried out by Israel or attributed to this state.
The U.S. announced that they will help Israel repel any potential strike and have reinforced their military presence in the Middle East. Currently, the region is home to, among others, two American aircraft carriers along with accompanying ships, a submarine with Tomahawk cruise missiles, and a squadron of F-22 fighter jets.
In a conversation with Reuters, Brown declined to speculate on the possibility of an Iranian attack but assured that he would discuss all scenarios with his Israeli counterpart, including how Israel might respond depending on the reactions of Iran and Hezbollah.
U.S. diplomatic offensive
The U.S. has also launched a diplomatic campaign to discourage Tehran from responding. Iran has been warned that its attack will be met with severe consequences.
Washington fears that a series of successive blows between Israel and Iran and its allies could lead to uncontrolled escalation and trigger an open war in the region.
At the same time, the U.S. is pressing Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in the war in the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for over 10 months. Another round of talks on this matter will occur in Cairo on Saturday. According to some sources, if a truce is agreed, Iran would refrain from its planned strike against Israel.
