WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States should be prepared to expand its military presence in the Persian Gulf to guarantee regional stability amid the Iran nuclear deal, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman told US senators on Tuesday.
“I think we are going to have to expand our regional military presence to reassure Israel and the Gulf States and to deter Iran,” Edelman said during a hearing on the regional impacts of the Iran nuclear deal.
The presumed shift in the security landscape as a result of the JCPOA means the United States will not be able to “maintain the assumption of unimpeded access and control in all domains of warfare in the Persian Gulf,” Edelman noted.
Edelman, who formerly advised neoconservative US Vice President Dick Cheney, advocated a host of new military hardware in the Persian Gulf to counter Iran’s defense capabilities.
“The US must take concerted efforts to maintain or achieve superiority in a range of areas,” he said. He specified enhancing long-range strike capabilities, advanced bunker-buster munitions, integrated and layered air and missile defenses for US allies, and greater capabilities to defend against cruise missile attacks.
Last week, the United States announced a multi-billion dollar sale of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia as well as the delivery of eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt.
After nearly two years of negotiations, Iran and the P5+1 countries of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany, reached a final agreement to guarantee the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
