US deploys Patriot batteries to guard Saudi, Qatari energy sites

The US military has deployed two additional Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to protect critical energy infrastructure amid preparations for possible renewed military operations against Iran, the Axios news site reported Thursday. One battery was sent to Saudi Arabia last month to protect a key oil facility, while another was deployed to Qatar to defend a natural gas facility, according to the report.

The deployments were intended to reassure both countries that Washington would protect their critical energy infrastructure if US President Donald Trump resumes major combat operations against Iran. US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins declined to comment on the specific deployments, according to the report.

Trump weighs renewed military action

Saudi and Qatari leaders had urged Trump in early August against launching a major attack that would include strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, fearing retaliation against their own facilities, Axios reported. US officials said those appeals were a key factor in his decision to pursue economic pressure instead of immediate military action.

Trump said Thursday he is considering renewing a bombing campaign against Iran in the coming weeks. "Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the deal, or it won't exist any longer," he said, escalating pressure on Tehran to reach a nuclear agreement. Washington would need Saudi permission to use the kingdom’s airspace for renewed major combat operations, but Riyadh would be unlikely to agree without assurances that its oil facilities were protected, according to the report.

US naval buildup accelerates

Meanwhile, the US is sending additional warships, fighter jets and troops to the Middle East as tensions mount. The USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and its strike group left San Diego on Sunday and were expected to reach the region around mid-November, a US official told Axios.

Officials have yet to determine whether the carrier will replace an existing deployment or increase the US presence to three carrier strike groups. The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, carrying thousands of Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, also departed for the region Monday and is expected to arrive by the end of November, the report said.