Washington has begun withdrawing some U.S. forces and weapons from a number of Middle Eastern countries to respond to Russia and China, according to The Wall Street Journal
The newspaper’s sources said the U.S. will redeploy about eight Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, particularly from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Also, the US missile defence system THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) complex will be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia. In addition, some aircraft and military personnel will be redeployed from the Middle East region.
“The Biden administration is drastically reducing the number of US anti-missile systems in the Middle East as part of a major reorientation of the military presence in the region as it redirects military forces to challenges from China and Russia”, – the WSJ wrote.
The newspaper notes that the reason for the return of American equipment is also connected with reducing the risk of escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran. Moreover, the Pentagon has stated that some of the American missile defence systems previously deployed in the Middle East are in need of maintenance and repair.