WASHINGTON

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday discussed rising tensions in the Middle East, the Pentagon said.

Austin and Gallant exchanged views on the regional instability and the "growing risk of escalation" from Iran, Lebanese group Hezbollah, and Iran-backed groups across the Middle East, spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

Austin informed Gallant that the US "continues to monitor attack planning from Iran and its proxies and is well-postured across the region to defend Israel and protect U.S. personnel and facilities," Ryder added.

The defense chiefs also discussed progress toward securing a cease-fire and the release of all hostages, including eight Americans, held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Pentagon announced earlier this month that the US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East ahead of a possible retaliation by Iran against Israel.

Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

Additionally, he ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region.

There are approximately 40,000 US personnel in the US Central Command area of responsibility, Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesperson said. "Routinely, there are approximately 34,000 in the region," Crosson said.

Tensions are running high in the Middle East following the July 31 assassination of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran and Israel's assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on July 30.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, while Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

Iran vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel for Haniyeh’s killing on Iranian soil.

The escalation comes amid an ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians following an attack Oct. 7 by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, that killed 1,139 Israelis.