Pentagon to Send THAAD Missile Defense System to Israel
In this image courtesy of DVIDS a US Army Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launching station sits at the ready in Israel, March 4, 2019. ©(Photo by Cory PAYNE / DVIDS / AFP)

The Pentagon said Sunday it will deploy a high-altitude anti-missile system and its US military crew to Israel to help the ally protect itself from potential Iranian missile attacks.

At the direction of US President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "authorized the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of US military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1," Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said in a statement.

The THAAD battery is intended to augment Israel's integrated air defense system, and will “underscore the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.”

This action is a part of broader adjustments that the US military has made in recent months, in support of Israel and to protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias. 

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