[Washington Post]U.S. to send additional troops to Saudi Arabia to boost defenses against Iran

The Pentagon will deploy an additional 1,800 U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia, senior defense officials announced Friday, a modest increase in the U.S. military’s presence in the Middle East meant to deter aggressive Iranian actions.

The deployments include two fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing headquarters unit, two Patriot missile batteries and one air-defense unit operating a system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD. The Pentagon said last month that some of those units were preparing to deploy.

The deployments come as the Pentagon wrestles with how to deter Iran while simultaneously pivoting itself for greater competition with China across the globe. A strike group led by aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has been in the Middle East for months, and Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper declined to say Friday whether its deployment would be extended.