According to a Reuters report, Chief of US Central Command, General
Kenneth McKenzie has said that the United States would deploy the necessary
resources to counter any dangerous actions by Iran.
“We’re gonna continue to reach out to our partners and
friends in the region to ensure that we make common cause against the threat of
Iran,” said McKenzie currently on an official visit to the Gulf region.
“I believe we’ll have the resources necessary to deter Iran
from taking actions that will be dangerous. We will be able to respond
effectively,” warned McKenzie.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since the
Trump administration last year withdrew from an international nuclear deal with
Iran and began ratcheting up sanctions.
Earlier this month, the United States blacklisted Iran’s
elite Revolutionary Guards.
Washington has also demanded buyers of Iranian oil to stop
purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed
Iran’s eight biggest buyers, most of them in Asia, to continue importing
limited volumes.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and some senior military
commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from Gulf countries if
Washington tries to strangle Tehran oil exports.
McKenzie also said he was confident that the U.S. is going
to have “a long term presence in Iraq, focused on the counter-terror mission.”
On withdrawal of troops, McKenzie also said a reduction of
US troops in Syria would be done cautiously. “On the long term, we’re gonna
reduce our forces in Syria, we recognize that, that’s the guidance in which we
are operating. That will be something that we will look at very carefully as we
go forward,” the general said.
President Donald Trump had ordered withdrawal of the US
troops Syria in December after claiming they (US troops) had defeated Islamic
State militants in Syria. In February, a senior administration official said
the United States will leave about 400 US troops split between two different
regions of Syria.
