US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, followed by trips to Germany, Britain and the NATO headquarters in Belgium, the Pentagon announced Thursday.  

The highest-ranked official of the administration of President Joe will discuss “shared priorities” and reassure Israel of Washington’s commitment to helping the country maintaining military superiority over its neighbours, according to a Pentagon statement, AFP reported.

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Meanwhile, in Europe, he will hold talks with German defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Chancellery Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Dr Jan Hecker, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and British defense minister Ben Wallace.

Austin is set to leave Washington on Saturday, however, dates for his stops in each country were not specified.

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The trip coincides with rising tensions between Israel and Iran just as the Biden administration tries to engage Tehran over returning to the 2015 nuclear deal effectively torn up by former president Donald Trump.

In Europe, it comes as Russia has sent shivers across the continent with the massing of troops and war equipment along its border with Ukraine.

“Russia now has more troops on the border of Ukraine than at any time since 2014,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, saying Biden was “increasingly concerned” the growing Russian aggression.