US to send anti-missile system and troops to Israel, says Pentagon By Reuters
By Phil Stewart, Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Sunday it would send U.S. troops to Israel and an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, in a highly unusual move aimed at bolstering air defenses following a missile attack by Iran.
US President Joe Biden said the move was to “defend Israel,” in retaliation for Iran’s expected retaliation after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on October 1.
The United States has been privately urging Israel to moderate its response to avoid sparking a wider war in the Middle East, officials said, when Biden publicly expressed his opposition to Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and his concerns about a strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure. .
Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder described the deployment as part of “broad changes the U.S. military has made in recent months” to support Israel and protect American personnel from attacks by Iran and Iran-backed groups.
But US military deployments to Israel are rare without training, given Israel’s military might. The US military has in recent months helped defend Israel from warships and warplanes in the Middle East when it was attacked by Iran.
But they were based outside of Israel.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is an important part of the US military’s air defense systems and adds to Israel’s already strong anti-missile defenses.
A THAAD battery typically requires about 100 soldiers to operate. It features six truck-mounted launchers, with eight connectors per launcher, and a powerful radar.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Sunday that the United States is putting the lives of its soldiers at risk by sending them to use US missile systems in Israel.
“Although we have made great efforts in recent days to contain the endless war in our region, I say clearly that we do not have red lines in protecting people and our interests,” Araqchi told X.
Still, experts say Iran was trying to avoid a direct war with the United States, making the deployment of US troops to Israel another factor in its calculations going forward.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on October 1, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel during another escalation of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many were intercepted in flight but others penetrated missile defenses.
US officials did not say how soon the system would be sent to Israel.
The Pentagon said THAAD was sent to southern Israel for tests in 2019, the last time it is known to exist.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:), the largest US arms manufacturer, develops and integrates the THAAD system, which is designed to shoot down short-, intermediate- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Raytheon (NYSE:), under RTX, is developing its own advanced radar.
