RIYADH – Reuters, AP :
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman approved hosting U.S. forces in the country to boost regional security and stability, state news agency SPA said on Friday.
The U.S. Defense Department confirmed the move in a statement, saying it would deploy troops and resources to Saudi Arabia to “provide an additional deterrent” in the face of “emergent, credible threats.”
The gesture comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran in the Persian Gulf.
The decision on hosting U.S. forces aims “to increase joint cooperation in defense of regional security and stability and to preserve its peace,” SPA said, quoting a Ministry of Defense official.
A U.S. official said the deployment would include about 500 U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia and is part of a boost in the number of U.S. troops in the Middle East that the Pentagon announced last month. In June, the Pentagon said it would deploy 1,000 troops to the Middle East but did not say where they were going.
Senior American defense officials said some U.S. troops and Patriot air defense missile systems have already arrived at Prince Sultan Air Base, south of Riyadh, where the troops have been preparing for the arrival of aircraft later this summer as well as additional troops. The troops would likely be sent to the air base, which became a hub of American air power in the Middle East in the 1990s but was abandoned by Washington after it toppled Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry also announced the basing agreement Friday without mentioning details.
