US to send anti-missile system to Israel, says Pentagon

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Sunday it will send to Israel an advanced anti-missile system – and U.S. troops to operate it – in a bid to bolster the country’s air defenses following missile attacks by Iran.

U.S. 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 defense system.

“It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” Ryder said in a statement.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned earlier on Sunday that the United States was putting the lives of its troops “at risk by deploying them to operate U.S. 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.

Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on Oct. 1, Iran fired more than 180 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 defenses.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Writing by Michelle Nichols and Andrea Ricci)