The United States is sending troops and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia as tensions flare with Iran, the Pentagon announced late Friday.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said, “This movement of forces provides an additional deterrent, and ensures our ability to defend our forces and interests in the region from emergent, credible threats.”
The U.S. will send 500 troops, Patriot air defense missile batteries, and F-22 stealth fighters to the Prince Sultan Air Base near the capital of Riyadh, according to the BBC.
In a statement released by Saudi Arabia’s state press agency, King Salman “approved hosting U.S. Armed Forces in the Kingdom to increase joint cooperation in defense of regional security and stability and to preserve its peace.”
The Pentagon’s announcement comes as Washington’s relationship with Iran worsens following the unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.
President Trump asserted on Thursday that a U.S. warship shot down an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf, but Tehran denies that claim.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fired back at Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for denying Tehran’s involvement. “It went down, and the fact that Foreign Minister Zarif either didn’t know or lied about it I can’t account for,” Pompeo told reporters Friday while traveling in Argentina. “It happened.”
Also on Friday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which is an important shipping pass in the Middle East.
Iran said the tanker was in breach of regulations, but United Kingdom Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt warned Tehran there would be “serious consequences” for its actions.
Iran shot down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait last month, insinuating that it violated Iranian airspace. The U.S. condemned the attack as “unprovoked,” saying the drone was above international waters at the time.
This deployment marks the first time U.S. military personnel have been sent to Saudi Arabia since 2003 when troops withdrew from the Kingdom following a 12-year stay that began with Operation Desert Storm when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991.
