US deploys Patriot batteries to Gulf as Trump weighs Iran strikes

The United States military has deployed two additional Patriot air-defense batteries to the Persian Gulf in recent weeks, according to two senior American officials and one regional source who spoke to journalist Barak Ravid.

One battery was sent to Saudi Arabia to protect a major oil facility, while a second was deployed to Qatar to defend a natural gas installation, Ravid reported in Axios and on Channel 12 News.

The deployment comes as Washington seeks to reassure two key allies that it will protect their critical energy infrastructure should President Trump decide to resume large-scale military operations against Iran.

Trump said last Thursday that he is considering renewing the campaign against Iran in the coming weeks, stating: "Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the deal, or it won't exist anymore."

In early August, when Trump was weighing a large-scale offensive that included strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar pressed him not to proceed. They expressed serious concern that Iran would retaliate by attacking their own oil and natural gas facilities. American officials said these appeals were a major reason Trump decided against striking and instead shifted to a campaign of economic pressure.

The US will need Saudi approval to use the kingdom's airspace if large-scale military action resumes. But the Saudis are not expected to grant such permission if they feel their oil facilities are unprotected. Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM), declined to comment on the report.

Patriot batteries, and especially their interceptor missiles, have become a highly sought-after commodity since the start of the war with Iran. The US military has transferred batteries and interceptor missiles to the Middle East from other regional commands, raising concerns about military readiness in other parts of the world.

At the same time, the US military is sending warships, fighter jets and additional forces to the Middle East ahead of a possible resumption of hostilities. A senior American official said the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group departed San Diego last Sunday en route to the region. They are expected to arrive in the Middle East around mid-November.

The Roosevelt will join the USS George H.W. Bush, which has been in the region since March, and the USS George Washington, which was sent from Japan during the summer and has been in the area for about a month. "This means there could be up to three carrier strike groups in the Middle East region. That's a lot more firepower," the American official said. However, another senior American official said it has not yet been decided whether the Roosevelt will replace one of the carriers currently stationed in the Middle East or be added to them.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which includes three amphibious ships carrying thousands of Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, departed for the region last Monday, a senior American official said. It is expected to reach the Middle East by the end of November and join another amphibious ready group and Marine expeditionary unit that have been deployed in the region in recent months.