Israeli defense minister postpones trip to Washington: Pentagon

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was due to meet his US counterpart Lloyd Austin – Copyright AFP/File Drew ANGERER

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has postponed a trip to the United States scheduled for this week, delaying a planned meeting with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

“We were just informed that Minister Gallant will be postponing his trip to Washington, DC. Secretary Austin looks forward to seeing him soon,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists, without providing a reason for the cancellation.

Israeli media, quoting “sources familiar with the situation,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed Gallant to postpone the trip until he speaks with US President Joe Biden, and also until the Israeli cabinet approves its response to Iran’s missile attack last week.

Singh said Washington is consulting with the Israelis about their response to the attack, which saw Iran launch some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

“We’re still talking to them about their response. I’m just not going to speculate further on what that might look like,” Singh said.