The United States said Sunday it will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile battery, as well as U.S. military personnel to support, to Israel as part of a push to bolster Israeli air defence systems in the aftermath of "unprecedented attacks" by Iran on April 13 and again on October 1.
"At the direction of the President, secretary Austin authorized the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of US military personnel to Israel in order to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1," the Pentagon said in a statement.
"The THAAD battery will complement Israel's integrated air defence system," the Pentagon said, noting in a statement that it underlines the US's "ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel and the protection of Americans in the region from further attacks by Iran.".
"It is part of the larger changes the US military has made in recent months to support the defense of Israel and to protect Americans from Iran and Iranian-aligned militia attacks," the statement further explained.
The Pentagon has also emphasized that this is not the first time a THAAD system was used in the region. Recently, the US deployed a THAAD battery in the Middle East after the attacks of October 7 to defend US troops and regional interests. Another THAAD battery was also deployed to Israel in 2019 for a training and an integrated air defense exercise.
On October 1, Iran launched at least 200 ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, setting off sirens across the country and moving millions of residents into shelters.
Following the missile attack by Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared during a Security Cabinet meeting, "Iran made a big mistake tonight, and it will pay for it."
US has been consulting the Israeli authorities on how to respond after the Iranian attack of October 1. US officials have made it clear that they do not want Israel to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
Earlier Wednesday, US President Joe Biden had his first conversation with Netanyahu since August, amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran. "It was direct and productive," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding that the two leaders "continued to discuss Israel's response to the (Iranian) attack last week," without providing more specifics.
As the call went on for 30 minutes, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant appeared live on video, cautioning of a "lethal" revenge against the attack by Iran.
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