US, Defense chiefs discuss Mideast crisis
Credit to Author: Global Times| Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2020 16:15:56 +0000
MOSCOW: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the situation in the Middle East with United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a phone conversation, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
“The situation in the Middle East region was discussed,” the ministry said in a statement.
Tensions soared in the Middle East after a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport on Jan. 3 killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps.
Iran fired missiles on Wednesday in retaliation, striking military bases which house US troops in Iraq’s western province of Anbar.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted afterwards that “we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”