The US Department of Defense announced on 11 October that Washington would deploy an additional 3,000 soldiers, two Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, and one THAAD missile defence system to Saudi Arabia. The administration of US President Donald Trump made the decision after the attacks on Saudi Aramco on 14 September.
Two major oil facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco were attacked in September, which resulted in a temporary sharp decrease in the kingdom's oil output. The Yemeni rebel Houthi movement claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, Riyadh blamed the incident on Iran, which, in turn, denied the allegations.
LONG DISTANCE DELIVERY | B-1B Lancers land @ Prince Sultan AB Saudi Arabia from Ellsworth AFB SD. The B-1B is a long-range strategic bomber able to strike any adversary at any location on the globe. This demonstrates PSAB’s ability to conduct combat ops.@USAFCENT pic.twitter.com/pHStQ4OIsp
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 25, 2019
