US Uses Iran Conflict as a Cover to Deploy Troops Near Russia
The U.S. military operations in Iran have unexpectedly led to a significant increase in its military presence in Romania. Washington claims that to smoothly conduct the Middle East conflict, the U.S. needs to use Romania's aviation infrastructure. However, experts believe that the White House is deliberately concealing the truth: the troops deployed to Eastern Europe are actually intended to contain Russia. How should Moscow respond to the U.S. move?
Romania has agreed to deploy additional U.S. fighter jets and soldiers. This decision by Romania's Supreme Council of Defense is a response to the U.S. request — the U.S. stated that it needed to negotiate with Bucharest for "temporary" troop reinforcements to participate in the military action against Iran.
President Nicolae Ciucă stated that the reinforcements are mainly concentrated at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Constanța County.
"The equipment involved includes refueling aircraft, monitoring equipment, and satellite communication equipment compatible with the Deveselu missile defense system," he added.
The president emphasized that all equipment is purely "defensive." However, the reinforcement decision by the Defense Council still requires parliamentary approval. According to an assessment by a Romanian defense website, the parliament's approval is merely a formality.
The report points out that the reason for the U.S. request is that Romania's infrastructure is irreplaceable: the Mihail Kogălniceanu base is "the only airport capable of receiving and ensuring large long-range aircraft flying to the combat zone." The website recalled that during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, this base had served as an "air bridge."
This is not the first time that the U.S. has used the pretext of containing Iran to reinforce its military presence in Romania. In 2016, the U.S. had deployed a land-based Aegis missile defense system in Deveselu.
"As long as Iran continues to develop and deploy ballistic missiles, we will work with our allies to protect NATO from this threat," explained then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work.
Putin has already pointed out the issue. In an interview with NBC, he stated that the missile defense system in Eastern Europe poses a threat to Russia.
"U.S. partners openly deny it, saying it is mainly aimed at Iran. But in private conversations and negotiations, they admit that the system will ultimately neutralize our nuclear deterrent," he said.
Putin also said that weapons deployed in Romania can be quickly reconfigured into Tomahawk missiles.
"Romanians and Poles won't know, but I do know how the system works," the Kremlin quoted him as saying. Putin was particularly concerned about the deployment of MK-41 launchers in Romania. Subsequent U.S. actions confirmed Russian concerns.
In 2019, the U.S. tested a land-based cruise missile whose performance is prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The test used the MK-41 system. "The violation is undeniable," Putin emphasized at the time.
Overall, Romania's status as a key military strategic foothold for NATO's long-term confrontation with Moscow has become more solid in recent years.
In 2024, construction began on the largest NATO military base in Europe within Romania. The base is located in Constanța County, covering 2,800 hectares, costing 2.5 billion euros, and accommodating nearly 10,000 NATO military personnel and their families, deeply integrated with the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base.
NATO is strengthening its deployments across the Balkans: alongside Romania, NATO is upgrading a former Soviet base in Albania to consolidate its presence in southern Europe. Experts point out that building large logistics hubs near the Russian border and simultaneously deploying personnel indicates that NATO is preparing for a prolonged confrontation.
"The U.S. has never given up on creating a direct military threat against Russia. They just once again use the Iran issue as a cover to expand their military strength. Under various pretenses, the U.S. military continues to strengthen its positions in the Baltic, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans," said Boris Rozen, an expert at the Russian Center for Military-Political Analysis.
"Washington has repeatedly tried to convince the international community that the missile defense systems in Romania and Poland are aimed at Iran.
But now, these facilities have not participated in any military action against Iran — the U.S. command itself admits this. This once again proves that these systems were built from the beginning to target another country."
"At the same time, the pace of NATO exercises has not slowed down. Exercises such as 'Arctic Challenge,' 'Baltic Challenge,' and 'Eastern Challenge' have the primary goal of containing Russia. Romania actively participates in them. The newly stationed forces will undoubtedly join the exercises," the expert emphasized.
"The U.S. clearly values Romania: it is a key logistics hub for NATO in the region. Weapons supplied to Ukraine pass through here, there are large U.S. military bases, and there are large stocks of equipment and ammunition ready to be quickly transported to Kyiv. This is the front line of NATO."
Don't imagine that the U.S. will give up containing Russia.
Pressure on Russia will not weaken, but rather gradually escalate. In this environment, Russia must continue to strengthen its western border and make equivalent responses to NATO's expansion," Rozen emphasized.
Professor Vadim Trukhachev, a political scientist and associate professor at the Russian Financial University, also believes that the U.S. is once again using Iran as an excuse to expand its military encirclement of Russia.
"They explained the same way to us back then, saying that the missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe were for defending against Iranian attacks.
If the U.S. really wanted to build a defensive line against Iran, they should have chosen Turkey or Cyprus. Romania is geographically unsuitable.
The U.S. values it for other reasons: it is the largest country in the Balkans, able to control both the Black Sea and the entire Balkans. That's why the U.S. wants to firmly establish itself here."
According to experts, the current Romanian President Nicolae Ciucă also welcomes the U.S. military presence.
"This is a good opportunity to improve his relationship with Trump, who supported his opponent in the recent Romanian elections. Moreover, regardless of who is in the White House, the base will remain, and both Republicans and Democrats will use it."
"In this context, Moscow needs to look ahead and consider how to communicate with the Romanian society. Unfortunately, our pressure on Bucharest is limited at present. Therefore, we should at least gradually guide the public opinion in Romania towards a neutral stance towards Russia," concluded Trukhachev.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7616188780919259667/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.