Published 20:52 IST, October 22nd 2019
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper meets Saudi Arabia's King Salman
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper held dialogue regarding strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia's king, Mohammad Bin Salman, in the city of Riyadh
- World News
- 3 min read
American Defence Secretary Mark Esper held talks regarding strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia's king, Mohammad Bin Salman, as the US deployed thousands of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia as tensions escalated with Iran. According to reports, Esper had a meeting with King Salman in Riyadh and also talked about problems relating to defence and the current situation in the area.
American troops deployed in Saudi Arabia
The Trump-led administration stated that it was sending in its troops to Saudi Arabia after the Saudi administration asked the US for reinforcements after the devastating Aramco Oil attacks on the oil plants.
Mark added that 2 fighter jet squadrons alongside defence batteries were being given to Saudi Arabia bringing a total strength of 3000 American troops deployed in the Saudi kingdom.
Iran blamed for Aramco oil attacks
In the events that preceded this, a sense of hostility increased in the Persian Gulf area after the bombing of the Aramco Oil sites in Saudi Arabia as Iran was blamed by America for orchestrating the attacks, a charge that has been denied by the Islamic Republic.
Although, the responsibility for the attack was claimed by the rebel group Houthi, who are at loggerheads with a Saudi led alliance who are putting in efforts to bring back Yemen's government to a significant level of authority.
The American president stated on September 16 that is seemed as if Iran was behind the bombings of the oil facility but a strategy had still not been tabled that offers a response to the attacks that took place.
The Aramco oil field bombings led to a steep increase in oil prices all over the world but Trump played down the indication of any talk of a swift military response as he earlier said that the soaring oil prices and its impact won't have a significant difference in his country.
Evidence of satellite pictures
US executives showcased satellite pictures of the damage caused after the drone attacks at Abqaiq's plant and a major oil field. A few specialists further added that how the people behind the attacks had proper information about which parts were to be targetted to halt the process of production.
According to the US, the way these attacks were orchestrated, indicated that the Houthi group was not responsible and on top of that the Saudi Arabian military claimed that weapons manufactured in Iran were used in these attacks. Also, the Saudis have called in the United Nations and other countries to probe the issue.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated 21:04 IST, October 22nd 2019