US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that his country has no evidence of Iran’s involvement in the sudden and widespread attacks launched by Hamas on Saturday against Israel.
The Defense Minister pointed out that Tehran has been supporting Hamas for years, which launched coordinated attacks on Israel by land, sea and air on Saturday.
However, Austin pointed out in statements to reporters on a US military plane that, “In this particular case, we do not have any evidence of direct involvement in planning or carrying out this attack.”
The US State Department concluded the same assessment, but pointed out that these data may change.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement to reporters, “Our experience in these matters indicates that it is too early to draw any final conclusions in this regard.”
He added, “We will look at additional intelligence in the coming days and weeks” to see “whether some in the Iranian regime have a clearer picture” of the planned operations or “contributed to aspects of the planning.”
Austin noted that Israel “worked hard and created some stability” following the initial attack, and re-established security at “the southern tip of the country where Hamas achieved a breakthrough.”
He continued, saying: “My focus is on making sure that we do everything we can as quickly as possible to support Israel in its defense of its sovereign territory.”
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2023-10-10 22:09:39
