US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured his counterpart Yoav Gallant of “unwavering US support” in a call due to “acute regional threats,” according to US Defense Department spokesman Pat Ryder. Austin said Israel can “count on full US support” against any attacks by Iran and its proxies. Military tensions in the Middle East have increased significantly since the suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus in early April, killing two brigadier generals. The state leadership in Tehran has threatened to retaliate.