The United States is sending an advanced anti-missile system to Israel, the Pentagon said, as President Joe Biden’s administration continues to provide “ironclad” support to one of its key allies amid growing tensions with Iran.
The US Department of Defense said on Sunday that Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had authorized the deployment of a “terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of US military personnel in Israel” to help strengthen the country’s air defenses.
“The THAAD battery will strengthen Israel’s integrated air defense system. This action underscores the United States’ unwavering commitment to the defense of Israel and the defense of Americans in Israel against any further ballistic missile attacks from Iran,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian general.
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have vowed to fight back – sparking fears the Middle East could be drawn into an all-out regional war.
Earlier this month, Biden suggested that Israel should refrain from striking Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields, but the Israeli government has repeatedly defied the US president’s public warnings in the past.
It is unclear when the US THAAD system will be deployed in Israel. An unnamed U.S. official told CBS News that “about 100 troops” would be heading to the country.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Washington was “putting (the) lives of its troops at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel.”
“Even though we have made enormous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I clearly say that we do not have a red line to defend our people and our interests,” Araghchi wrote on social media .
While the United States has said it favors diplomacy and de-escalation in the region, critics have noted that Washington offers Israel unwavering military and diplomatic support.
The United States provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorized $14 billion in additional aid to its ally since the Israeli military began its war in the Gaza Strip in October last year.
Israel also recently expanded its bombing campaign into Lebanon, after trading fire with the Lebanese group Hezbollah across the Israeli-Lebanese border for months.
Yet despite growing concerns over an expanding war, the Biden administration has rejected calls to suspend arms transfers to Israel in order to pressure the country to end the wars in Gaza and in Lebanon.
Marwan Bishara, Tel Aviv Tribune’s senior political analyst, said “there is no doubt” that Washington’s announcement on Sunday of the THAAD system could further escalate regional tensions.
“I don’t know if President Biden is sleepwalking into another regional war…or (if) he has his eyes wide open as he escalates the war,” Bishara said.
Israel already uses three integrated missile defense systems to intercept rockets and missiles fired at the country.
But the THAAD system that the United States will deploy in Israel has a greater range than other systems and marks a “step forward,” Tel Aviv Tribune’s Mike Hanna reported from Washington, DC.
“The important point also is that the (THAAD) systems are so complex that they require a crew of 94 people to operate – a trained crew of 94 people – and they will be American soldiers,” Hanna said.
“This is a system that is being implemented and is a significant increase in U.S. support for Israel as this crisis continues. »
Speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune, military analyst Elijah Magnier said he believed the announcement of the THAAD system meant that the expected Israeli attack on Iran was “not imminent”, as Israel would like the missile defense system is in place before any attack, which will likely be followed by another Iranian attack on Israel.
The United States had already deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for air defense training and exercise, the Pentagon announced on Sunday.
Biden also ordered the military to send one to the Middle East “to defend American troops and interests in the region” after the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
