Washington: The United States on Sunday said it will send US troops and an advanced THAAD anti-missile system to Israel, in a highly unusual deployment meant to bolster the country's air defenses following missile attacks by Iran. US President Joe Biden said the move was meant “to defend Israel,” which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on October 1.
“At the direction of the President, Secretary Austin authorised the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of US military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel's air defences following Iran's unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1,” said the Pentagon on Sunday (local time) in a statement.
According to the Pentagon, the US had previously directed the military to deploy a THAAD anti-missile battery to the Middle East last year following the October 7 attacks led by Hamas to defend American troops and interests in the region. The United States previously deployed a THAAD battery to Israel in 2019 for training and an integrated air defence exercise.
Why is this move unusual?
The United States has been privately urging Israel to calibrate its response to avoid triggering a broader war in the Middle East, officials say, with Biden publicly voicing his opposition to an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites and his concerns about a strike on Iran's energy infrastructure.
A US military deployment to Israel is rare outside of drills, given Israel's own military capabilities. US troops in recent months have aided Israel's defence from warships and fighter jets in the Middle East when it came under Iranian attack, but they were based outside of Israel.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned earlier on Sunday that the United States was putting the lives of its troops “at risk” by deploying them to operate US 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,” Araghchi posted on X.
Still, experts say Iran has sought to avoid a direct war with the United States, making deployment of US forces to Israel another factor in its calculus going forward. Meanwhile, officials did not say how quickly the system would be deployed to Israel.
Israel's conflict with Hezbollah
The development came as a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central Israel killed four IDF soldiers and severely wounded seven others on Sunday. Israel has been engaged in armed confrontation on multi-fronts, including ground operations in Lebanon to eliminate Hezbollah.
The Lebanon-based Hezbollah unleashed the attacks near Binyamina city in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people. Hezbollah targeted Israel's elite Golani brigade, launching dozens of missiles to occupy Israeli air defence systems during the assault by “squadrons” of drones.
With Israel's advanced air-defence systems, it's rare for so many people to be hurt by drones or missiles, Israel's national rescue service said. Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily in the year since the war in Gaza began, and fighting has escalated.
