DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The US military is investigating the possibility of using a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and two additional airfields in the kingdom amid heightened tensions with Iran, the military said Tuesday.
Describing the work as “contingency plans,” the US military said it has already tested the unloading and shipping of cargo overland from the Saudi port at Yanbu, a crucial oil pipeline terminal in the kingdom.
Using Yanbu, as well as air bases in Tabuk and Taif along the Red Sea, would give the U.S. military more options along a crucial waterway increasingly under attack by suspected mines and drone boats by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
However, the announcement comes as Saudi-American relations remain tense with the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and the kingdom’s ongoing war in Yemen in the early days of President Joe Biden’s administration. Deploying – even temporarily – US troops to bases in the kingdom, where the holy Muslim city of Mecca is located, could spark anger among extremists.
US Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a Central Command spokesman, said the evaluation of the sites had been underway for over a year, fueled by the September 2019 drone-and-missile attack on the heart of the Saudi oil industry.
Saudi Arabia and the US blamed Iran for that attack, which temporarily halved Saudi oil production and saw oil prices spike. Tehran has denied involvement and the Houthis have claimed the attack, although the involved drones appear to be Iranian-made.
“These are prudent military planning measures that allow temporary or conditional access to facilities in an emergency, and are in no way provocative, nor do they expand the US footprint in the region, in general, or in the United States. especially the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ”wrote Urban.
US Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of US Central Command, paid a visit to Yanbu on Monday. Defense One and the Wall Street Journal, who traveled to Yanbu with McKenzie, first reported on the US schedule. Saudi officials did not respond to the request for comment on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia has already paid for site improvements and is considering more, Urban said. Tabuk is home to King Faisal Air Base, while Taif is home to King Fahd Air Base.
The Gulf Arab states are home to a wide variety of US military bases, the legacy of the 1991 Gulf War, when US-allied forces expelled Iraq from Kuwait, and the subsequent 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. troops withdrew from Saudi Arabia after the September 11 attacks. Osama bin Laden had mentioned their commitment in his attacks on the US.
US Central Command already has forward headquarters in Qatar. The United States Navy’s 5th Fleet operates from the island kingdom of Bahrain off the coast of Saudi Arabia. Kuwait is home to the United States military’s front headquarters, while the United Arab Emirates is home to American pilots and sailors.
Those locations also do not include the presence of US forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Former President Donald Trump has also sent the first troops to Saudi Arabia since 9/11 over concerns about Iran. About 2,500 US troops now man jet fighters and Patriot missile batteries at Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh.
The addition of these Saudi sites appears to be part of what McKenzie previously described to Congress as the “ Western Sustainment Network, ” a new logistics system designed to avoid maritime bottlenecks, said Becca Wasser, a fellow at the United States. Washington-Established Center for New American Security.
These locations likely would not have had troops permanently stationed and, given that flexibility, could allow the US to take down troops at other bases, she said.
“If we’re trying to have a flexible attitude where we’re not tied to fixed bases, … then you need to back that up with a logistics network that can allow you to pour in people and weapons when needed,” Wasser said.
Such contingency plans already exist in the Middle East, such as the agreements granting US forces the right to use bases in Oman under certain circumstances. But Saudi Arabia’s west coast also provides extra distance from Iran, which has invested heavily in ballistic missiles as sanctions have barred the country from global arms sales.
The Persian Gulf “would be disputed waters under any scenario of armed conflict with Iran, so you look at where you would move your troops if they enter the theater from disputed territory,” McKenzie told reporters in Yanbu.
For Iran, additional bases are likely to heighten the suspicion of its theocratic government. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high after Trump unilaterally withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, sparking an escalating series of clashes.
Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations, criticized the US actions, calling the presence of foreign forces in the Middle East “one of the main reasons for the chaotic situation and insecurity in our region”.
“Any ‘contingency’ with Iran would only make sense if another country planned to attack Iran and we are determined to defend ourselves if we are attacked,” said Miryousefi.
It remains unclear what Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia will be like during his presidency. During his campaign, Biden referred to the kingdom as a “pariah” about the murder of Khashoggi.
However, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states remain top customers for US weapons and rely on the US to ensure the free flow of oil and goods through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
Riyadh also came under a mysterious airstrike on Saturday that the US State Department condemned Biden as “an attempt to target civilians.” It remains unclear whether it was a missile or a drone used in the attack.
The Yemeni Houthi rebels, previously targeted by Riyadh, denied their involvement, although the Arab Gulf states blamed the rebels for the attack. A previously unheard of group called the “True Promise Brigade” said it carried out the attack with “drones of terror” without providing evidence to support its claim.
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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.