The United States announced on Sunday that it would send the THAAD anti-missile defense system to Israel to strengthen the response capacity against possible Iranian attacks as well as around 100 soldiers to operate it, the Pentagon reported in a press release. .
The announcement comes amid international controversy over Israel’s “deliberate” attacks on UN peacekeeping mission positions in southern Lebanon.
According to Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder, President Joe Biden ordered Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to deploy the THAAD defense system and its crew to counter Iranian ballistic missiles.
“This action underscores the United States’ strong commitment to the defense of Israel and Americans in Israel against any further ballistic missile attacks from Iran,” he said in a statement.
Ryder said air defense troops and batteries would be deployed to Israel in the face of “unprecedented” Iranian attacks on Israel in April and October 1, during which a large number of ballistic missiles struck Israeli territory.
“This is part of a broader adjustment that the U.S. military has made in recent months to support Israel’s defenses and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and its allied militias,” Ryder said.
The spokesperson recalled that this is not the first time that the United States has deployed THAAD batteries in the region.
