US will send troops to run it to Israel to aid defence against Iran

The United States will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence battery to Israel, along with the troops needed to operate it, the Pentagon said on Sunday, even as Iran warned Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin authorised the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Joe Biden. He said the system will help bolster Israel's air defences following Iran's ballistic missile attacks on Israel in April and October.

The delivery of the sophisticated missile defense system risks further inflaming the conflict in the Middle East despite widespread diplomatic efforts to avoid an all-out war. The Iranian warning came in a post on the social platform X long associated with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who noted the earlier reports that the US was considering the deployment.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon have been clashing since ...