U.S. to send anti-missile system ‘to defend Israel’ against possible clashes with Iran [Video]

The United States said on Sunday it will send to Israel an advanced anti-missile system — and U.S. troops to operate it — in a bid to bolster the country’s air defences following missile attacks by Iran.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he was sending the system “to defend Israel.”

Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) battery would augment Israel’s integrated air defence system.

“It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defence of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” Ryder said in a statement.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi warned earlier on Sunday that the U.S. was putting the lives of its troops “at risk by deploying them to operate U.S. missile systems in Israel.”