Protecting Saudi Arabia from Iran threat
US sends 3000 troops
Announces deployment of two fighter squadrons, missile defense batteries
The United States announced the deployment of additional American military forces to Saudi Arabia on Friday to bolster the kingdom’s defenses after the Sept 14 attack on its oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Iran.
The large deployment, which was first reported by Reuters, includes fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing and air defense personnel, the Pentagon said. Together with the 200 forces to Saudi Arabia announced last month, the deployment totaled about 3,000 troops, it said.
In a bid to better shield Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said it was sending two additional Patriot batteries and one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters the deployments were designed to deter Iran.
Trump said the United States would not bear the expense of the deployment. “Saudi Arabia, at my request, has agreed to pay us for everything we’re doing,” he told reporters.
Some of Trump’s Republican allies have called for retaliatory strikes, which the president has so far declined to carry out.
It was unclear whether some of the newly announced troops might replace other American forces expected to depart the region in the coming weeks or months.
Iran vows response to attack on tanker
Meanwhile, Iran yesterday vowed not to let an attack on one of its oil tankers off the coast of Saudi Arabia to go unanswered, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.
The National Iranian Tanker Company, which owns the Sabiti, said its hull was hit by two separate explosions on Friday off the Saudi port of Jeddah.
But the state-owned company denied reports the attack had originated from Saudi soil.
The attack caused oil to spill from the tanker into the Red Sea, the NITC said, before it was eventually controlled and the vessel began slowly moving back towards Gulf waters.