The US deployed a special anti-ballistic missile battery system and its 100-member crew to help defend Israel against a potential third direct attack from Iran, as Tehran warns it has no redlines in the war with its archfoes.
“This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” the Pentagon said Sunday.
“It is part of the broader adjustments the US military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” the Pentagon stated.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned, “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 redlines in defending our people and interests.
“The US has been delivering record amounts of arms to Israel. It is now also putting the lives of its troops at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel,” Araghchi warned.
Defending Israel
US President Joe Biden said he was sending the system “to defend Israel.”
Biden ordered the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, which was then authorized by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has spoken twice with Austin in the past days and Biden discussed Iran with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.
Israel has left the region and the international community guessing as to when and how it plans to respond to Iran’s October 1 ballistic strike against it. The US, which was one of four armies that fought alongside Israel to defend the Jewish state, has sought to constrain that response.
It has warned in particular against the targeting of Iranian nuclear and or oil facilities. The US has not participated in any Israeli offensive action against Iran but has worked to defend the Jewish state against strikes from Tehran.
Israeli military decisions with regard to Iran, have, therefore, had a direct impact on US force posture in the region, and place the American army at risk of getting more involved in Iran’s war with Israel.
The US decision to send THAAD to the region is seen as a sign that it considers it likely that Israel would indeed issue a retaliatory strike on Iran.
The Pentagon said the deployment of a THAAD battery and its crew to Israel would “help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1. The THAAD battery will augment Israel’s integrated air defense system.”
The Pentagon noted that Biden had also sent a THAAD battery to the Middle East last year after the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
“The United States previously deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for training and an integrated air defense exercise,” the Pentagon said.
Israel has for the last year battled Iran and its proxies, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.
Hannah Sarisohn in New York contributed to this report.