The U.S. announced today that it will send a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) <a href="https://time.news/how-israel-maintains-military-strength-amid-arab-opposition-weapons-and-arms-suppliers-revealed/" title="How Israel Maintains Military Strength Amid Arab Opposition: Weapons and Arms Suppliers Revealed”>missile defense system to Israel, manned by U.S. military personnel, in support of Israel’s air defenses against missile attacks by Iran, Reuters reported.
US President Joe Biden said he was sending the system “to protect Israel”, the agency added, BTA reported.
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said the deployment of this anti-missile system would extend the range of Israeli air defenses.
“This is part of the assistance steps that the U.S. military has been taking in recent months to support Israel’s defense and to protect American citizens from attacks by Iran and Iran-aligned groups,” Ryder was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier today that the US is “putting the lives of its servicemen at risk by sending them to operate with US anti-missile systems in Israel”.
Iran carried out massive missile attacks against Israel in April and early this month, Reuters recalled.