Saudi Arabia .. A surprise visit to the US Secretary of Defense and a military conference to discuss the threats of Iran

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for his first visit to Washington by an ally in the Middle East since taking office this summer as tensions between the United States and Iran mounted and Russia sought to increase its regional influence.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have reached new highs since May 2018, when the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran.

Esber will meet with Saudi leaders and US troops during the visit. The United States has deployed troops in Saudi Arabia to bolster the kingdom's defenses following two attacks on its oil facilities last month.

The visit comes as US military chiefs of staff from 18 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, held a meeting to discuss security and stability in the region.

In a speech at the beginning of the conference, Chief of General Staff Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili said that the conference comes to discuss the challenges, threats and security and defense issues that surround the countries of the region, which contain about 30% of the energy supply in the region. Worldwide, shipping lanes make up 20% of the world's commercial lanes, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

He added that the Saudi armed forces are confronting all threats emanating from Iran and its arms, looking forward to come up with a position confirming participation in supporting efforts in protecting these important facilities and ensuring that such attacks do not recur.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the participants were briefed on the unprecedented attack and damage to vital facilities in the Kingdom, as well as ballistic missiles and Iranian drones intercepted.