The tweet comes after US President Donald Trump told reporters earlier Friday that Saudi Arabia will pay for the deployment of additional American soldiers to the country following the September 14 attack on the Arab kingdom's oil facilities, which the US has blamed on Iran.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 11, 2019
In his tweet, Pompeo also confirmed that the US is deploying "additional forces" and "military equipment" to Saudi Arabia to "help restore deterrence against Iranian aggression."
In a statement Friday, US Defense Department chief spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said: "At the request of US Central Command, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized the deployment of additional US forces and the following equipment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Two fighter squadrons; one Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW); two Patriot batteries; one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD)."
On September 14, drone attacks on two Saudi Aramco plants, in Abqaiq and Khurais, damaged the facilities and temporarily cut their production by 5.7 million barrels of oil per day, or about half their daily output. Even though Yemen's Houthi movement claimed responsibility, both Saudi Arabia and the US have pointed fingers at Iran, which has denied being involved in the attack.
