The United States is reducing its anti-aircraft defense in the Middle East, having strengthened it in 2019 and 2020 due to tensions with Iran. The Pentagon explained it. Defense Minister Lloyd Austin explained that some forces and equipment will be withdrawn from the region this summer, mainly for anti-aircraft defense, “Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica McNulty announced.
“Some of this equipment will be returned to the United States for necessary maintenance and repairs. Others will be redeployed to other regions,” he added. The spokesperson did not specify whether this equipment will be redeployed to the Indo-Pacific region, where the Pentagon wants to focus its efforts in the face of China’s rise. “We will not give details,” he noted.
According to the Wall Street Journal, in early June the Pentagon began withdrawing eight anti-missile batteries from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as a THAAD anti-missile shield that had been deployed in Saudi Arabia. Each anti-missile battery requires the presence of several hundred soldiers, and their withdrawal results in the departure of thousands of Americans from the region.
“We maintain a strong military presence in the region, adequate to the threat, and we are confident that these changes will not affect our national security interests,” the spokesman stressed.
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