Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday that America’s deployment of additional military forces to the Persian Gulf might have given the Iranians second thoughts about attacking U.S. interests in the region. For now, he said, the threat from Iran is “on hold.”
“Our prudent response, I think, has given the Iranians time to recalculate,” Shanahan told reporters before meetings with presidents of the freely associated states of Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.
“That doesn’t mean that the threats that we’ve previously identified have gone away,” Shanahan added. “I think our response was a measure of our will and our resolve that we will protect our people and our interests in the region.”
Asked to clarify what he meant by saying the potential for attacks was “on hold,” Shanahan said, “There haven’t been any attacks on Americans. I would consider that a hold.”
The remarks came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and intelligence officials planned to conduct closed-door briefings to share evidence of the threats with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Separate briefings are scheduled Tuesday afternoon, first for House members and then senators.
[Also read: As tensions escalate with Iran, Pompeo briefs Iraq on the threat to US forces]
