Donald Trump tells House that full deployment will arrive in the Kingdom in coming weeks US aircraft carrier strike group Abraham Lincoln sails through the Strait of Hormuz WASHINGTON: The number of US troops in Saudi Arabia will reach 3,000 in the coming weeks as Washington boosts its forces in the Kingdom to help defend against Iran. In a letter to the House of Represntatives on Tuesday, Donald Trump said the forces had been deployed “to assure our partners, deter further Iranian provocative behavior, and bolster regional defensive capabilities.” The Pentagon said last month it has approved the deployment of the troops and military hardware to Saudi Arabia in response to the September drone and missile attack on the Kingdom’s oil facilities. Trump said the forces included radar and missile systems to “improve defenses against air and missile threats”, an expeditionary wing to support fighter aircraft from Saudi Arabia, and two fighter squadrons. He said some of the forces had already arrived in the Kingdom and that the rest will be in place in the coming weeks. U.S. Central Command ✔ @CENTCOM The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left, the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) transit the #StraitofHormuz with the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) Nov. 19, 2019 @US5thFleet View image on Twitter 99 10:20 PM - Nov 19, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 70 people are talking about this The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), left, the air-defense destroyer HMS Defender (D 36) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) transit the #StraitofHormuz with the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) Nov. 19, 2019 @US5thFleet pic.twitter.com/Mpg7ODdfuv — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 19, 2019 “Iran has continued to threaten the security of the region, including by attacking oil and natural gas facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Sept. 14, 2019,” Trump said in the letter. The attack on the world’s largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq and the Khurais oil field, causing large fires and halving the country’s oil output. The attack, blamed on Iran, was the peak of months of tensions in which Tehran was also blamed for attacks on shipping, leading to the US bolstering its military presence in the region. On Tuesday, the US aircraft carrier strike group Abraham Lincoln sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, where the attacks on shipping have taken place.