Despite the rancor between officials in Washington and Tehran, the two enemies are cooperating. Airmen from McGuire AFB, N.J., had deployed to Pakistan to help with earthquake relief efforts. However, the US troops jumped right in to help unload earthquake relief equipment off an Iranian airplane. An Iranian diplomat told Reuters News Service, “These [Americans] are aid workers and they help anybody. They don’t differentiate between Pakistanis, Iranians, and others.”
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.