Top US general: Near-term Middle East war risk has eased

The Pentagon’s senior-most uniformed official believes the threat of a larger war in the Middle East has decreased following Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah tit for tat earlier this week that resulted in no further strikes.

But Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. C.Q. Brown told Reuters Monday that even with the lowered risk of conflict, Iran and its proxies are still a major risk as Tehran considers a strike on Israel.

Speaking to the outlet after a three-day trip to the Middle East that included a stop in Israel, Brown said the near-term danger of a regional war had declined “somewhat.”

“You had two things you knew were going to happen. One’s already happened. Now it depends on how the second is going to play out,” Brown told Reuters while leaving Israel.

Brown was referring to two major threatened attacks against Israel in recent weeks: Hezbollah’s strike and Iran’s pledge to attack the country over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month.

“How Iran responds will dictate how Israel responds, which will dictate whether there is going to be a broader conflict or not,” he added. 

Some 100 Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Lebanon early Sunday morning, with Israel calling the move a preemptive strike ahead of a major Hezbollah attack.

Shortly afterward, Hezbollah launched some 300 rockets and drones at what it claimed were Israeli military sites.

Neither side has sought further escalation following the strikes, the heaviest exchange of fire yet in more than 10 months. Fighting had picked up between the two sides following the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

Brown said there are still dangers from Iran’s allies in nearby Iraq, Syria and Jordan, which have attacked U.S. troops in the region in the past year, and Yemen’s Houthis, who have fired at ships in the Red Sea and at Israel.

Brown’s trip, which included meetings with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, comes as the Biden administration looks to quell further damage from the Israel-Hamas war.

The conflict, in which the Israeli military has destroyed major sections of Gaza, has triggered a humanitarian crisis with at least 40,000 Palestinians killed. And nearly all of the territory’s 2.3 million people have been displaced.

The war has also led to more border skirmishes between Israel and Iranian-proxies in Lebanon and Yemen.