US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Saudi counterpart, Khaled bin Salman Al Saud, expressed their commitment to cooperation in strengthening Iran's deterrence in a telephone conversation, the Pentagon press office said.
"The heads of the defense departments of the two countries conducted a review of US efforts to strengthen security in the Middle East,”, the message said. Austin “reaffirmed the longstanding US commitment to the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the importance of bilateral defense cooperation to the security of the region”. The ministers "committed to continuing close bilateral cooperation to strengthen deterrence against common threats, including from Iran and its proxies".
They also spoke of “the need for all parties to contribute to restoring stability and responsible governance in Lebanon”. Austin emphasized that “The United States maintains significant capabilities in the region to help defend its partners, protect American forces, and deter aggression.
On the evening of October 1, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel in response to the assassinations of key figures in the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (elite units of the Iranian armed forces). Tehran said 90 percent of the missiles hit their intended targets, but Israel said Iran fired about 180 missiles and most of them were intercepted. The Israeli General Staff vowed to respond to the attack. For his part, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that in this case his country's retaliatory strikes against Israel would be even more large-scale.