The US will send an advanced anti-missile system — and US troops to operate it — to Israel “to help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1,” the Pentagon said Sunday.
It is not the first time the US has deployed the system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, to the Middle East, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in the statement, and the system was also deployed to Israel in 2019 for an exercise. But the deployment of additional US troops to Israel is notable amid the heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, and as the region braces for a potential Israeli attack on Iran that could continue to escalate hostilities.
Approximately 100 US troops are deploying to Israel to operate the THAAD battery, according to a US defense official. It is rare for US troops to deploy inside Israel, but this is a typical number of troops to operate the anti-missile defense system.
The THAAD system is specifically meant for anti-ballistic missile defense and could help Israel better defend itself against a future Iranian attack if Iran decides to respond to any Israeli strike.
The US has been consulting with Israel on how it plans to respond to Iran’s October 1 attack on the country, and US officials have made clear they do not want Israel to target Iranian nuclear sites or oil fields. US President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, their first conversation in almost two months, telling him Israel’s retaliation should be “proportional.”
The US military has significantly increased its presence in the Middle East since October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel. The US has bolstered its air defenses across the region, deployed additional warships and aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea and Arabian Sea, and recently sent additional troops to Cyprus to help with possible evacuation planning, CNN previously reported.
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