Mattis: DOD has no new plans to team with Russia; Iran needs to 'shape up'

By Tony Bertuca / July 24, 2018 at 5:31 PM

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today there are no new plans for the U.S. military to coordinate with Russian forces, but did not rule it out in the future.

"We will not be doing anything additional until the secretary of state and the president have further figured out at what point we are going to start working alongside our allies with Russia in the future," Mattis said during a press conference at Hoover Institution.

Senior House Democrats have asked Mattis to brief national security committees on what happened during a private meeting President Trump had in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits U.S. forces from coordinating with the Russian military.

Mattis also said Iran needs to "shape up and show responsibility" in the Middle East, noting that Trump's recent tweet threatening Iran makes clear that Tehran is "on the wrong track."

Trump tweeted Monday in all capital letters that if Iran continued to threaten the United States it would "SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE."

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