(Bloomberg) -- Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to announce a new deployment of U.S. forces to the Middle East as tensions rise over Turkey’s military operations in northern Syria and an explosion on an Iranian oil tanker.

As many as 1,800 military personnel, including two air squadrons, are expected to be deployed to the region, including to Saudi Arabia, according to a defense official.

Crude oil futures extended gains in New York on the news.

The move comes as President Donald Trump defends his decision to pull back some U.S. forces in northern Syria, a move that allowed Turkey to send its forces into the region and attack American-allied Kurdish militias. The president and his top aides argue that the decision didn’t give Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a green light to attack.

At a rally in Minneapolis on Thursday night, Trump reiterated statements that he wants to bring U.S. troops home from “endless wars.”

“It’s time to bring them home,” Trump said. “We’ve done our job, we’ve defeated everyone that we’re supposed to defeat.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert

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