Speaking to Reuters after concluding a three-day trip to the Middle East, US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said early Tuesday that fears of a near-term broader Middle East conflict have ebbed after Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah exchanged fire without further escalation.

However, the US top General warned that “Iran still poses a significant danger as it weighs a strike on Israel.”

Additional quotes

“You had two things you knew were going to happen. One’s already happened. Now it depends on how the second is going to play out.”

“How Iran responds will dictate how Israel responds, which will dictate whether there is going to be a broader conflict or not.”

“Hezbollah’s strike was just one of two major threatened attacks against Israel that emerged in recent weeks.”

“Iran is also threatening an attack over the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran last month.”