The U.S. military is “exploring the possibility of using a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and an additional two airfields in the kingdom” amid heightened tensions with Iran, the military said Tuesday, part of a preliminary agreement reached between the U.S. and Riyadh, according to several reports.
The additional placements of U.S. military assets and access to key ports in the Kingdom’s western region would expand the U.S.’s ability to operate from Saudi Arabia in the event of a war with Iran. While describing the work as “contingency” planning, the U.S. military said it already has tested unloading and shipping cargo overland from Saudi Arabia’s port at Yanbu, a crucial terminal for oil pipelines in the Kingdom, the AP reports.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laughs while speaking with Rear Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 2015. Photo via DOD.
“Using Yanbu, as well as air bases at Tabuk and Taif along the Red Sea, would give the American military more options along a crucial waterway that has come under increased attack from suspected mine and drone boat attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.” the AP adds.
The U.S. has a military presence in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and in Saudi Arabia’s eastern region. Several thousand American troops, jet fighters and other weaponry have been stationed at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base since 2019 to respond to regional threats from Iran.
But with heightening tensions with Iran, as well as Iran’s increasing ability and willingness to use ballistic missiles against targets in the region, the U.S. is seeking to expand its presence in the Kingdom’s western region in order to reduce its vulnerability to such attacks.
The launch an F/A-18E Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195 from the flight deck aboard the Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Photo via DOD.
U.S. Gen. Frank McKenzie invited reporters to travel with him to the region to inspect three of the new locations, according to Defense One.
“The Arabian Gulf would be contested waters under any scenario of armed conflict with Iran, so you look at the places where you would move your forces as they enter the theater from being in a contested area,” McKenzie said, according to Defense One. “Certainly the Red Sea, the western [part] of the Arabian peninsula presents those opportunities.”
This expansion initiative has been underway for at least a year, but still is said to be “highly contingent.”
“We’re just exploring possibilities here, nothing more than that and we’re working closely with our Saudi hosts,” McKenzie said. “It is nothing more than contingency work now — certainly nothing is firm — but it gives me the opportunity to come out here and look at the ground and see.”
