Washington DC, June 18: The United States is expected to discuss the details of whether to deploy additional armed forces of America to the Middle East this week in a wake of the recent oil tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.
While quoting two US official familiar with the matter, CNN reported it was not yet clear when US President Donald Trump will be briefed over the development and when further actions will be taken.
On Friday, acting defence chief Patrick Shanahan has hinted over the discussions. He was quoted as saying, “When you look at the situation, a Norwegian ship, Japanese ship, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, 15 per cent of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, so we obviously need to make contingency plans should the situation deteriorated but we also need to broaden our support for this international situation.”
According to ANI news reports, the US officials further underlined the discussions were centred over the mission of defence and deterrence against the Iranian aggression, and what armed forces would be required to conduct that mission.
They have stated the additional capabilities like fighter jets and ships, and Patriot missile batteries could contribute to the greater defence and deterrence against Iran’s missile firings.