The Biden administration will temporarily send U.S. troops and a ground interceptor that shoots down ballistic missiles to Israel to bolster its defenses against Iran, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday.
The deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)) the anti-missile system is described as a way to “strengthen Israel’s defenses against ballistic missiles” and “against any future ballistic missile attacks from Iran”.
A U.S. official told CBS News that about 100 troops will head to Israel with the missile defense system.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed the deployment in a statement later released to the media, saying THAAD would “augment Israel’s integrated air defense system” following the “unprecedented attacks” of Iran on April 13 and on October 1” He said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Biden.
“This action underscores the United States’ unwavering commitment to the defense of Israel and the defense of Americans in Israel against any further ballistic missile attacks from Iran,” he said. “This is part of 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 Iran-aligned militias.”
In a brief exchange with reporters before leaving Florida on Sunday, Biden said he agreed to deploy the THAAD battery “to defend Israel.” Biden spoke at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa after making a quick visit to see the damage caused by Hurricane Milton and meet with first responders, residents and local leaders.
Earlier on Sunday, Iran appeared to warn the United States to keep its military forces out of Israel.
The comments were published in an article on the social platform
In the message, Araghchi referred to the possibility of the United States sending one of its THAAD systems to Israel. Any move of one of the systems, known by the acronym THAAD, to Israel would involve deploying soldiers to operate the complex system.
“The United States has delivered a record amount of weapons to Israel,” the X message read. “It is now also endangering the lives of its troops by deploying them to operate American missile systems in Israel .”
He added: “Even though we have made enormous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say clearly that we have no red line in defending our people and our interests.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on the remarks, which were relayed by Iranian state media.
Israel is widely believed to be considering attacking Iran over its missile barrage on Israel earlier this month, the AP reported. This is Iran’s second direct attack on Israel during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which has spread to Lebanon and implicated other Iranian-backed militant groups in the region.
The United States previously sent a THAAD to the Middle East last year after the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, and then temporarily sent a THAAD to Israel in 2019 for military exercises.
Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.
