AMID heightened tension between the United States and
Iran, the US announced on Friday that it was sending military reinforcements to the Gulf region following attacks on Saudi oil facilities that it attributes to Iran, just hours after President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions on Tehran. Trump said sanctions were the toughest-ever against another country yet indicated he did not plan a military strike, calling restraint a sign of strength.
Apparently, deployment of additional forces is aimed at consolation of the Gulf countries, which feel threatened especially after dastardly attack on KSA’s oil facilities that have also caused a sharp hike in global oil prices. American Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford categorised the deployment as ‘moderate,’ with number of troops not expected to reach thousands but gradual increase in forces and deployment of ships and aircraft carriers represent growing danger to peace and security in the region. Such deployments could prove beginning of a catastrophic war if something goes wrong in future or there is mishandling of situation by either side. The remarks of Corps Commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Maj Gen Hossein Salami are also threatening who said on Saturday any country that attacks Iran would become the ‘main battlefield’. There is, however, a positive development that Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who repeatedly targeted key Saudi infrastructure in cross-border attacks, unexpectedly announced late Friday that they planned to halt all strikes on the country. The announcement shows Houthis have realised the folly of raising the tension as they did recently and that there was room for resolution of the conflict through peaceful means.
