The U.S. Secretary of State said the troops need to change their location.
The transfer of American batteries of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems from Saudi Arabia is not due to the reduction of the threat posed by Iran. This statement was made on Friday by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in an interview with American journalist Ben Shapiro. The transcript was distributed by the State Department press office.
Pompeo was asked to comment on the publication of The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the U.S. is curtailing its military presence in Saudi Arabia, including by relocating four Patriot SAM batteries due to the reduced threat from Iran. “These Patriot batteries have been stationed there for some time. These troops (battery maintenance personnel – TASS) needed to come back and change their location,” the secretary of state replied.
“It wasn’t an acknowledgement of a decreased threat [from Iran], I wish it wasn’t. I would like the Islamic Republic of Iran to change its approach, but the threat remains,” Pompeo said. He assured of the U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security, urging it not to view the withdrawal of the SAMs as a means of “putting pressure [on Riyadh] on oil issues.
As The Wall Street Journal reported citing Pentagon sources, the U.S. has already withdrawn two fighter squadrons from the Middle East region, in addition to four Patriot batteries, and is withdrawing several dozen troops from Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon will soon consider reducing the number of warships in the Persian Gulf. These steps are based on an analysis of the current situation in the region and the conclusion made to reduce the immediate threat, which, from the point of view of Washington, Tehran represents for the strategic interests of the United States, the newspaper sources explained. According to them, the U.S. Department of Defense believes it is more important to pay more attention to China’s military presence in Asia.