The United States is reminding its Syrian Kurdish allies not to get overly ambitious while at the same time trying to allay concerns Washington will abandon them to Turkey or a possibly resurgent Islamic State terror group.

Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan said the steps taken to bolster the U.S. military presence in the Middle East have deterred Iran and “put on hold the potential for attacks on Americans,” even as Iran carried out other attacks.

Russian troops serving in the Baltic fleet in Kaliningrad have staged military drills as the strategic region is becoming an increasingly contested space between Russia and NATO.