The United States announced on Friday that it is sending around an additional 1,500 troops and other reinforcements to Saudi Arabia amid the Iranian threat.
Two fighter squadrons, one air expeditionary wing, two Patriot missile batteries and one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) will be deployed, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman.
“As we have stated, the United States does not seek conflict with the Iranian regime, but we will retain a robust military capability in the region that is ready to respond to any crisis and will defend U.S. forces and interest in the region,” he said.
“Taken together with other deployments, this constitutes an additional 3,000 forces that have been extended or authorized within the last month,” added Hoffman.
The deployment is on top of last month’s announcement that the Pentagon would send 200 troops, a Patriot-missile defense battery and four radar systems to Saudi Arabia in response to Iran attacking two Saudi Aramco facilities on Sept. 14.
The Pentagon has approximately 70,000 personnel in the Middle East.
