Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper will be ready to update European allies on tensions with Iran as he heads to NATO headquarters this week during his inaugural trip as Pentagon chief, a senior U.S. official said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is open to the possibility of the first talks since 2015 between the defense chiefs of the United States and Russia, a move that would deepen communication between Washington and Moscow, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. military is not in Iraq "to seize anybody's oil", Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump before arriving on an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter makes his last scheduled trip to Asia next week, and he will try to sooth anxieties caused by Donald Trump's election, U.S. officials said.
