The United States is reducing its military presence in the Middle East and has withdrawn anti-missile batteries from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
The United States is currently withdrawing all of its forces from Afghanistan and reduced its military strength in Iraq to 2,500 last year.
AFP
The United States is currently reducing its anti-aircraft defense in the Middle East, after strengthening it in 2019 and 2020 due to tensions with Iran, the Pentagon said on Friday, confirming information from the “Wall Street Journal”.
Defense Minister Lloyd Austin “ordered (…) to withdraw from the region certain forces and capabilities, mainly anti-aircraft defense equipment, this summer,” a Pentagon spokeswoman said in a statement. Commander Jessica McNulty.
“Some of this equipment will be returned to the United States for much needed maintenance and repairs. Others will be redeployed to other regions, ”she added. The spokeswoman did not specify whether this equipment would be redeployed in the Indo-Pacific region, where the Pentagon wants to focus its efforts in the face of the rise of China. “We will not give details,” she noted.
Eight anti-missile batteries
According to the “Wall Street Journal”, the Pentagon began in early June to withdraw eight anti-missile batteries from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as a THAAD anti-missile shield which had been deployed in Saudi Arabia. Each anti-missile battery requires the presence of several hundred soldiers, and their withdrawal means the departure of thousands of American soldiers from the region.
“We maintain a robust military presence in the region, appropriate given the threat, and we are confident that these changes will not affect our national security interests,” the spokesperson stressed. “We also maintain the flexibility to quickly return forces to the Middle East if necessary,” she added.
The United States is currently withdrawing all of its forces from Afghanistan and reduced its military strength in Iraq to 2,500 last year. Several Patriot batteries had been sent as reinforcements to the region after the assassination in January 2020 of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in an American strike.
The THAAD system had been deployed in Saudi Arabia a few months earlier, after air strikes against two strategic oil sites in the Saudi kingdom, attributed to Tehran. Iran is still considered a major threat in the Middle East, but President Joe Biden nevertheless wants the United States to reinstate the Vienna Accord on Iran’s nuclear program.
Found an error? Report now.
–
