The United States is going to send out new ground troops to Saudi Arabia. The US Department of Defense announced this on Saturday following recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Like Saudi Arabia, the US is convinced that Iran is behind the attacks.
In a press conference, US Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, along with General Joseph Dunford, said President Donald Trump had approved the deployment of military and military equipment.
Tonight @POTUS approved the deployment of U.S. forces and equipment in response to Saudi Arabia’s request for defensive assistance. The purpose of additional defensive support is: pic.twitter.com/tfCQ9E6QJP
— Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper (@EsperDoD) September 21, 2019
The US will also send military equipment to the United Arab Emirates to increase the country’s ability to defend itself. Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had asked for help from the US.
According to the US it is not about ‘thousands’ of soldiers, but did not want to specify how much and what kind of units it is. The soldiers must above all take care of the defense of Saudi air defense.
Saudi oil facilities were bombed last weekend. The attacks were claimed by Houthi rebels from Yemen, who are supported by Iran. Saudi Arabia, however, is convinced that Iran is behind the attacks. Iran denies any involvement in the attack.
Saudi Arabia speaks of “irrefutable evidence” of Iranian involvement
On Wednesday, the Saudi Defense Ministry showed wreckage allegedly from Iranian drones and cruise missiles. These are believed to have come from the bombing of the oil facilities. The ministry speaks of “irrefutable evidence” of Iranian involvement.
The Saudi army colonel Turki al-Malki states that the Houthi rebels are claiming the attack to cover Iran. According to him, the rockets came from the north, from Iran, and not from Yemen in the south.
As a result of the attacks, the oil facilities suffered a production loss of 5.7 million barrels of oil per day. This is around 5 percent of global oil production. The precise costs of repairing damage are still being calculated, but according to energy minister Abdulaziz Bin Salman, oil production in Saudi Arabia is likely to have fully recovered by the end of this month.