The United States will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence battery to Israel, along with the troops required to operate it, the Pentagon announced on Sunday, despite Iran’s warning to keep American military forces out of Israel.
According to Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at President Joe Biden’s direction. He stated that the system will help strengthen Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on the country in April and October.
Despite widespread diplomatic efforts to prevent an all-out war, the delivery of the sophisticated missile defense system risks escalating the Middle East conflict. The Iranian warning came in a post on the social media platform X, which has long been associated with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who mentioned previous reports that the US was considering the deployment.
Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have clashed since October 8, 2023, when the Lebanese militant group began firing rockets across the border in support of Hamas in Gaza. Late last month, Israel conducted a ground invasion of Lebanon.
Israel is widely believed to be preparing a military response to Iran’s October 1 attack, in which it launched approximately 180 missiles into Israel.
In a brief interview with reporters before leaving Florida on Sunday, Biden said he agreed to deploy the THAAD battery to protect Israel. Biden spoke at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa following a brief visit to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Milton and meet with first responders, residents, and local leaders.
In his statement, Ryder stated that the deployment “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.”
It was unclear where the THAAD battery was coming from and when it would arrive. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli army spokesman, declined to provide a timetable for its arrival but thanked the United States for its support.
Late last year, the United States deployed one of the batteries to the Middle East, along with additional Patriot battalions, to strengthen protections for US forces in the region following Hamas militants’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Ryder also stated that the US sent a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for training.
It is also not uncommon for the US to have a small contingent of troops in Israel, which the US regards as a key regional ally. There has typically been a small number of forces present, as well as routine rotational deployments for training and exercises.
According to a Congressional Research Service report from April, the Army currently has seven THAAD batteries. Each typically consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, radio and radar equipment, and requires 95 soldiers to operate.
The THAAD is considered a supplement to the Patriot, but it can defend a larger area. It can hit targets at distances of 150 to 200 kilometers (93 to 124 miles).
