JERUSALEM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held a meeting with military chief Eyal Zamir on Sunday to assess the military's "operational readiness" following the latter's urgent defense talks in Washington.

The discussions focused on the military's "operational readiness for any possible scenario" amid escalating regional tensions, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting comes after Zamir concluded a weekend visit to the United States, where he discussed coordination of defense strategies with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and senior Pentagon officials. The talks reportedly centered on preparing for potential U.S. military action against Iran.

The flurry of high-level meetings follows a similar trip to Washington last week by Israel's military intelligence chief, Shlomi Binder, as the two countries step up contingency planning for a possible regional confrontation.

Tehran has threatened it will retaliate with attacks on U.S. bases and Israeli targets in case of a U.S. attack on Iran. ■