The US is sending an advanced missile defense system to Israel to help protect the country after Iran’s recent massive missile attack.
This is the system called THAAD.
The United States is sending American soldiers to Israel to operate the system.
US President Joe Biden says he is sending the system “to defend Israel”.
Pat Ryder, spokesman for the United States Department of Defense, the Pentagon, says that the deployment of THAAD will strengthen Israel’s overall air defense system.
“It is part of a broader adjustment the United States military has made in recent months to support Israel’s defenses and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iran-backed militias,” Ryder said in a statement.
Iran recently launched about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Iran said it was in response to Israel liquidating a number of senior leaders in the militias Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as senior Iranians.
Currently, the Middle East is waiting to see what Israel’s response to the attack will be.
Iran apparently expected Israel’s air defenses to be bolstered by the Americans.
Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said the US was putting its own soldiers at risk “by deploying them to operate missile systems in Israel”.
The German news agency dpa writes that the US already sent a THAAD battery to the Middle East last year in light of the rising tensions.
However, the battery was not deployed in Israel itself.
/ritzau/Reuters
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
