The commitment to protect its strategic partners is an integral part of the US strategy in the Middle East.
After recent reports that Tehran is preparing an attack on Saudi Arabia, the US has sent warplanes towards Iran. This is reported by WP.
The publication notes that despite Washington's dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia's decision to cut oil production amid a global shortage, the administration of US President Joe Biden is looking for signs that the close, decades-long security relationship between Washington and Riyadh can be saved.
Ties and commitments to help defend our strategic partners, especially against Iran, are an integral part of US defense in the Middle East. When recent intelligence reports warned of possible Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia, US Central Command scrambled warplanes based in the Persian Gulf region toward Iran as part of an overall heightened military readiness of the US and Saudi armed forces.
The takeoff, which was carried out as an armed show of force and was not previously reported, was the latest illustration of the importance of the partnership, which the US administration says Washington is now reviewing.
“There will be some consequences for what they did,” Biden said after Saudi Arabia agreed to cut oil production at an OPEC+ meeting last month.
The White House accused Saudi Arabia of oil production only serves to boost prices and will benefit Russia at a time when the United States and its allies are trying to cut off Moscow's oil revenues to stop its war against Ukraine.
In the following days, Saudi Arabia said the administration The U.S. asked to delay production cuts for a month, suggesting indirectly that Biden wanted to avoid higher prices ahead of the midterm elections.
Many US lawmakers, including those who have long advocated severing ties with Saudi Arabia, reacted with outrage, calling for the immediate withdrawal of thousands of US troops stationed in the kingdom and an end to all arms sales.
But the White House is looking for ways to maintain strong bilateral security ties with Saudi Arabia.
The United States maintains significant air power in the region, including F-22 fighter jets in Saudi Arabia.
Only about 6 percent of U.S. oil imports now come from Saudi Arabia. China is the kingdom's largest trading partner, and commercial ties with Russia have expanded. However, security and intelligence ties are the backbone of the US-Saudi relationship, so defense officials in Washington are concerned about what the current upheaval could mean.
There are currently about 2,500 US military personnel in Saudi Arabia, many of whom are involved in high-tech intelligence work and training. The US is the supplier of almost three-quarters of all weapons systems used by the Saudi military. At the same time, military supplies to the kingdom have been the subject of repeated disputes in the US in recent years.
Also read: US and allies to impose additional sanctions on Iran for supplying weapons to Russia – Donfried
Previously The Wall The Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia suspected that Iran was planning to attack targets on its soil, as well as in the Iraqi city of Erbil, to divert attention from its own domestic protests that have been ongoing since September< /strong>. The kingdom warned of an “imminent attack” on its lands by the United States.
Following the reports, the military of these two states and several neighboring countries in the Middle East went on high alert.
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In Bela the House expressed concern over the warning and declared its readiness to respond in the event of an attack by Iran.
