Trump focuses on defending Saudis, not striking Iran, for now - US officials
US President Donald Trump is sending a modest
deployment of US troops to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with air and missile
defense systems, in response to the attacks on Saudi oil facilities the US
administration blames on Iran, The New York Times reported.
The decision, which came on Friday during a White
House meeting with top national security officials is "defensive in nature,"
the newspaper quoted Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper as saying on Saturday.
The Pentagon would deploy additional antimissile
batteries to Saudi Arabia and might also deploy additional warplanes, Defense
Department officials said.
The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln may extend its
stay in the region as well, the officials noted.
Pressed by reporters about whether the
administration was still considering so-called kinetic action, or military
strikes, Esper said, "That’s not where we are right now."
A senior United States official estimated that
additional American forces sent to the region would number in the low hundreds.
