United States sends troops to Strengthen Saudi defences after Assault U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday approved sending American troops to strengthen Saudi Arabia's air and missile defences following the largest-ever assault on the kingdom's oil facilities, which Washington has been blamed Iran.
The Pentagon said the installation would entail a moderate amount of troops - not numbering thousands - and could be mostly defensive in character.
Reuters has reported that the Pentagon was contemplating sending anti-missile batteries, drones and fighter jets. America is also contemplating keeping an aircraft carrier in the area indefinitely.
"In reaction to this kingdom's petition, the president has approved the installation of U.S. forces, which is defensive in nature and mostly focused on air and missile defence," U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a news briefing.
"We'll also work to hasten the delivery of military equipment to the realm of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to boost their capacity to shield themselves."
The Pentagon's late Friday announcement appeared to close the door to some impending decision to wage retaliatory strikes against Iran after the assault, which rattled international markets and vulnerable major openings in Saudi Arabia's air defences.
Trump mentioned earlier on Friday that he thought his army restraint so far revealed"strength," because he instead imposed another round of financial sanctions on Tehran.
"Since the simplest thing that I could do, 'Okay, go ahead. Assessing out 15 different significant items in Iran.' ... But I am not seeking to do this if I could," Trump told reporters in the White House.
But the installation could aggravate Iran, which has reacted to preceding U.S. troop deployments this season with apprehension. It denies responsibility for the attack in Saudi Arabia.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi motion, that has been fighting a Saudi-led army coalition that contains the UAE, has claimed responsibility for those strikes.
Relations between the USA and Iran have dropped sharply since Trump pulled from the Iran nuclear accord this past year and reimposed sanctions on its oil exports.
For months, Iranian officials issued veiled threats, stating that when Tehran was blocked from exporting oil, other nations wouldn't be in a position to do this either.
But, Iran has denied any part in a string of strikes in recent years, such as bombings of all tankers in the Gulf and strikes maintained by the Houthis.
They have ignored Houthi asserts the attacks originated in Yemen.
Among the officers told Reuters the attack may have been approved by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
It's troops positioned in Syria and Iraq, two states where Iranian influence is powerful and Iran-backed forces work publicly.
U.S. officials fear Iran's proxies may try to strike there, something which may easily trigger a broader regional conflict.
U.S. Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said officials were beating out the ideal collection of capacities to defend Saudi Arabia, noting that the problem fighting a swarm of drones.