Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday evening met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Belgium, to discuss security issues, including the Iranian threat. 

The meeting was held at the U.S. embassy in Brussels.

“The Minister and Secretary of Defense discussed the progress in security and military coordination between Israel and the United States regarding the Iranian issue, with the aim of preventing Iran from gaining military nuclear capabilities,” the ministry’s official statement said.  

“Minister Gallant also raised the challenges faced by the State of Israel as a result of Iranian aggression via regional proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Judea and Samaria. In this regard, Minister Gallant emphasized the right of the State of Israel to defend itself against any threat,” it added. 

Gallant also touched on ways to further deepen defense and military cooperation between the countries. The officials agreed on the need to increase the number of joint military exercises including the IDF and CENTCOM troops.

According to the readout of the American side, the two also discussed Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and increased Iranian-Russian military cooperation resulting in “profoundly negative consequences” both for Ukraine and the Middle East. 

Austin also expressed concern “over the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank and encouraged further cooperation, including via the United States Security Coordinator, to deescalate conflict and reduce tensions.”