US to deploy more troops to Saudi Arabia, UAE
The Pentagon says the U.S. will deploy additional
troops and military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to
beef up security, as President Donald Trump has at least for now decided
against any immediate military strike on Iran in response to the attack on the
Saudi oil industry.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper says this is a first
step, and he is not ruling out additional moves down the road. He says it’s a
response to requests from the Saudis and the UAE to help improve their air and
missile defenses.
Esper and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, say details of the deployments will be determined over the
coming days.
President Donald Trump is signaling that he’s not
inclined to authorize an immediate military strike on Iran in response to the
attacks on the Saudi oil industry, saying he believes showing restraint “shows
far more strength” and he wants to avoid an all-out war.
Trump has laid out new sanctions on the Iranian
central bank.
Trump spoke just before he gathered his national
security team at the White House to discuss how to respond to the weekend drone
and missile attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
He left the door open a bit for a later military
response, saying people thought he’d attack Iran “within two seconds.” But he
says he has “plenty of time.”
