Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, retired four-star Gen. Jack Keane said the goal of Iran is to beat down the U.S. presence and increase Iran’s influence in the region, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.
"We do not approach it with anywhere near the degree of intensity we have to," Keane said, but he added "we are considerably more aggressive than we have been in the past."
Iraq’s ambassador in Washington, Samir Sumaidaie, told the newspaper U.S. operations against Iranian operatives have been stepped up, but would not say whether his own government was taking part.
In January, the U.S. military arrested five Iranians in Irbil on suspicion they were agents of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Tehran protested they were diplomats and had international immunity.