US to remove Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia: Report
Removing missiles, other measures mark end of recent military buildup to counter Iran, officials say
By IAR Desk
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal the US will be removing four Patriot missile defence systems and dozens of troops deployed to Saudi Arabia amid heightened tensions with Iran.
The missile systems were sent to the kingdom in September last year after a series of drones and missiles targeted two Saudi oil facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais.
While Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks, both Saudi Arabia and the US pointed the finger at Iran. Tehran denied the charges.
The attacks on the Saudi Aramco facilities resulted in the closure of 5.7 million barrels per day of crude oil production, which increased global oil prices.
A leaked report by the UN secretary general said its investigators could not corroborate claims that the drones and missiles in the attack were of Iranian origin.
The US withdrawal was based on a belief among “some officials” that Iran “no longer poses an immediate threat to American strategic interests,” reported the Wall Street Journal. It further reported that the US was also considering winding down its naval presence in the Gulf.
Some US officials have voiced concern that reducing military presence in the region as it may give rise to new challenges from Iran.
Iran maintains the largest ballistic and cruise missile capabilities in the Middle East and could overwhelm virtually any Saudi missile defense system, according to think-tank CSIS, given the geographic proximity of Tehran and its regional proxy forces.
Other officials feel that the military systems and resources are required ito counter growing Chinese military presence in Asia.
Iran maintains the largest ballistic and cruise missile capabilities in the Middle East.
Last month, on the 41st anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran launched its first domestically developed military satellite into orbit.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had condemned the launch, calling Iran’s space programme “neither peaceful nor entirely civilian”.
In another related development a prominent leader of the Iran-backed Houthi group Mohammad al-Hamran was killed on Thursday amid fierce clashes near Marib, as battles with government forces intensified, reported the Associated Press.
