US air defense forces being deployed to Saudi Arabia after attacks on oil facilities

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon said Friday it will boost U.S. air and missile defenses in Saudi Arabia after last weekend’s surprise attack, allegedly from Iran, on critical oil facilities exposed the kingdom’s vulnerability.

The modest response, announced shortly after the Treasury Department added new sanctions to Iran’s financial sector, reflects a White House attempt to keep mounting tensions in the Persian Gulf from escalating into war.

Pentagon officials declined to provide specifics, but the latest deployment is expected to add hundreds, not thousands, of U.S. troops to a region already peppered with multiple American military bases.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper described the deployment as a “first step” that would be “defensive in nature.”

U.S. and Saudi officials have blamed Iran for the predawn attack by 18 explosive-laden drones and seven cruise missiles on the world’s largest oil processing facility and a nearby oil field. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Thursday condemned what he called an “act of war” but stopped short of calling for direct retaliation.

Earlier Friday, the Trump administration said it had added sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank, its national development fund and a third financial institution. More than 450 Iranian individuals, institutions and entities already are under U.S. sanctions, most imposed under Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign since he pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

“Attacking other nations and disrupting the global economy has a price,” Pompeo said Friday.