By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – America mentioned on Sunday it’ll ship to Israel a complicated anti-missile system – and U.S. troops to function it – in a bid to bolster the nation’s air defenses following missile assaults by Iran.
U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned he was sending the system “to defend Israel.”
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder mentioned the deployment of a Terminal Excessive-Altitude Space Protection (THAAD) battery would increase Israel’s built-in air protection system.
“It’s a part of the broader changes the U.S. navy has made in current months, to assist the protection of Israel and defend People from assaults by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” Ryder mentioned in a press release.
Iran’s International Minister Abbas Araqchi warned earlier on Sunday that the USA was placing the lives of its troops “in danger by deploying them to function U.S. missile programs in Israel.”
“Whereas we’ve made super efforts in current days to include an all-out battle in our area, I say it clearly that we’ve no purple traces in defending our folks and pursuits,” Araqchi posted on X.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on Oct. 1, Iran fired greater than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel amid an escalation in preventing between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many have been intercepted in flight however some penetrated missile defenses.