Washington — The US said on Sunday it would send to Israel an advanced anti-missile system and US troops to operate it in a bid to bolster the country’s air defences following missile attacks by Iran.
US President Joe Biden said he was sending the system “to defend Israel”.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery would augment Israel’s integrated air defence system.
“It is part of the broader adjustments the US military has made in recent months, to support the defence of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” Ryder said in a statement.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on October 1, Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel amid an escalation in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defences. The missile barrage was a response to Israel’s assassinations of the Hezbollah leaders, Tehran said.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant has said Israel’s response will be “deadly, precise and above all surprising”, without giving details.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi warned earlier on Sunday that the US was putting the lives of its troops “at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel”.
“While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests,” Araqchi posted on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday urged Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian to support a “general de-escalation” in the Middle East, the presidential office said.
Macron also reiterated to Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati the “absolute necessity” of obtaining a ceasefire in Lebanon without further delay.
Reuters
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