WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said it has approved the deployment of 3,000 additional US troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia, boosting the country’s defences after attacks on its oil installations.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorised the deployment of two more Patriot missile batteries, one THAAD ballistic missile interception system, two fighter squadrons and one air expeditionary wing, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“Secretary Esper informed Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) this morning of the additional troop deployment to assure and enhance the defence of Saudi Arabia,” it said.
“Taken together with other deployments this constitutes an additional 3,000 forces that have been extended or authorised within the last month,” it said.
Esper later told reporters that the deployments were in response “to continued threats in the region” and came after a conversation with MBS about “efforts to protect from further Iranian aggression”.
Since May, the US has increased the number of its forces by about 14,000 in the Central Command area covering the Middle East, the defence department said.
The new deployment is part of a series of what the US has described as defensive moves following the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities last month, which rattled global energy markets and exposed major gaps in Saudi Arabia’s air defences.
The US and Saudi Arabia, as well as several European countries, have blamed Iran for the attacks, allegations Tehran denies.
Iran has responded to previous US troop deployments this year with apprehension.
MBS last month said Riyadh preferred a political solution to a military one, but warned that oil prices could spike to “unimaginably high numbers” if the world did not deter Iran.
