Saudi Arabia's MBS speaks with Pentagon chief about US troop deployment
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper discussed American troop mobilisation to Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Wednesday, the kingdom's official news agency SPA reported.
President Donald Trump authorised the deployment of hundreds of American soldiers to the kingdom earlier this month after an attack against Saudi oil facilities on 14 September.
According to the SPA statement on Wednesday, Esper told bin Salman that Washington will do "everything necessary to help the kingdom to defend itself".
Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack, but US and Saudi officials insist that Iran is behind the incident - charges that Tehran denies.
"The US secretary of defense stressed that Iran's aggressive policy, which destabilises the region, must be curbed," the SPA statement said.
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The crown prince described the attacks against the Saudi oil facilities as a "dangerous escalation towards the whole world", according to SPA.
Earlier on Wednesday, senior Saudi diplomat Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom knows "for certain" that the weapons used in the attack were "Iranian-made".
Speaking at an anti-Iran meeting in New York, Jubeir accused the Islamic Republic of plotting assassinations and attempting to destroy Arab countries, including Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is engaged in a war that has killed thousands of people.
He also accused Iran of backing the Islamic State (IS) group, falsely claiming that Iran has never been attacked by the militants.
Jubeir said Riyadh is still weighing its response to the attack on the oil facilities and will come to a decision once the investigation concludes.
"There is a series of options that we will consider, and we will make the right decision, that include diplomatic options, that include economic options and that include military options," Jubeir said.
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