America withdraws missile batteries from Saudi Arabia and Riyadh confirms the strength of relations

The American Associated Press reported that the United States withdrew its latest missile defense systems and Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia in the past few weeks, and for its part, the Saudi Ministry of Defense stressed to the agency the strength of relations between the two countries.

And the same agency reported that satellite images showed the removal of some American missile batteries from Prince Sultan Air Base (115 km southeast of Riyadh), and added that a high-resolution image of Planet Labs, taken yesterday, Friday, shows that the battery platforms at the site are empty, And without any visible activity.

It quoted the Saudi Ministry of Defense as saying that the relationship between Riyadh and Washington is strong and historical, despite the withdrawal of American missile defense systems from the Saudi air base, noting that the redeployment of some American defense capabilities in the region is done through an understanding between the two countries.

For his part, John Kirby, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), said that a number of missile defense systems have already been redeployed to the region, but he stressed that his country maintains "a broad and deep commitment to its allies in the Middle East, by retaining some of its most powerful capabilities." Military, air and naval developments in the region.

American presence

Prince Sultan Air Base hosted several thousand US troops following a 2019 missile and drone attack on Saudi Aramco.

And last June, the American Wall Street Journal revealed that the administration of President Joe Biden decided to reduce a large number of American anti-missile systems (Patriot) in the Middle East, and reported that Washington decided to withdraw 8 Patriot batteries from Iraq and Kuwait. Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The Pentagon said last Wednesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin - who was on a Gulf tour - postponed indefinitely a visit he was scheduled to make to Saudi Arabia, in a decision he attributed to a "scheduling problem."

"The minister's visit to the kingdom was postponed due to scheduling problems," a Pentagon official told AFP.

He added that Austin looks forward to rescheduling the visit as soon as possible.

At the beginning of the week, the US Defense Secretary began a Gulf tour a week after his country's withdrawal from Afghanistan. He visited Qatar, then Kuwait, and then Bahrain.