US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump's decision to speed up the sale of weapons and send additional troops to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and demanded not to fight a war on behalf of Saudi Arabia.
Pelosi said the Trump administration's attempt to "circumvent" Congress' desire was "unacceptable and disturbing."
The speaker stressed that the United States has no intention of fighting a new war in the Middle East on behalf of Saudi Arabia, and that the Americans are tired of the war.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on Friday evening that military reinforcements would be sent to the Gulf region after attacks on two Saudi Aramco facilities in the east of the country.
He said the attacks, which took place last Saturday, "constitute a major escalation of the Iranian aggression," adding that "to prevent further escalation, Saudi Arabia has asked for international assistance to protect the vital infrastructure of the Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates also asked for help."
He explained that in response to these requests, "the president agreed to deploy US forces will be defensive in nature, and focused primarily on the air force and missile defense."