The United States will be relocating four Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that were deployed amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The move comes as some officials have concluded that Iran no longer poses as immediate a threat to U.S. interests as it did earlier this year, when tensions between the two countries soared following the U.S. drone strike targeting Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials. Dozens of military personnel deployed to man the systems will also be relocated.
Two U.S. jet fighter squads have already been removed from the Gulf region because of the deescalation, and officials said that reductions to the U.S. Navy’s presence there is also being considered.
Despite the deescalation, some officials still expressed concern with Iran, which has lashed out against U.S. interests in the region, not just directly but also through affiliated proxy groups. Houthi rebels in Yemen, which enjoy Iranian support, have launched attacks against the Kingdom, and militia groups in Iraq have lobbed Katyusha rockets at bases housing U.S. troops since Soleimani’s death.
“The underlying pressure on Iran and the propensity to act out militarily as their only outlet of trying to relieve that pressure still exists with the maximum pressure campaign,” an official said. “As long as the maximum pressure campaign continues, there’s a feeling that we need a strong deterrent to prevent Iran from acting out in the region.”
The U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign aims to squeeze the Iranian regime financially by targeting it with sanctions and restrictions. Despite the campaign, Iran has still flexed its military. Last month, a group of 11 Iranian naval vessels approached a group of U.S. Navy forces in the Arabian Gulf. The Navy described the interaction as “unsafe” and “unprofessional.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Pentagon about this story.
