US to beef up military defenses in Saudi Arabia, UAE

The U.S. military is dispatching an undetermined number of additional forces to Saudi Arabia to beef up its air and missile defenses after blaming Iran for recent drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon Friday.

“To prevent further escalation Saudi Arabia requested international support to help protect the kingdom’s critical infrastructure,” Esper said. “The United Arab Emirates has also requested assistance. In response to the kingdom’s request, the president has approved the deployment of U.S. forces, which will be defensive in nature, and primarily focused on air and missile defense.

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