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The United States is deploying one of its most advanced missile defense systems, along with approximately 100 troops, to Israel, deepening its involvement in the escalating conflict in the Middle East ahead of an expected Israeli offensive on Iran, according to U.S. media reports.
This marks the first significant deployment of U.S. troops to Israel since the start of the Gaza war and comes just three weeks before the U.S. presidential election, as noted by The Washington Post. The Middle East conflict has been a key issue in the campaign. U.S. officials have urged Israel to avoid targeting Iran's nuclear, oil, and gas facilities, fearing it could provoke further escalation and disrupt the global economy.
The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system signals that the U.S. anticipates a significant Israeli attack that "will compel the Iranians to respond," said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert and advisor to multiple U.S. administrations. This move adds to the more than 50,000 tons of military equipment the U.S. has sent to Israel since the war began last October, according to Israel's Ministry of Defense.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has vowed a destructive attack on Tehran in response to a barrage of ballistic missiles launched at Israel on October 1. "Our strike will be strong, precise, and above all, swift. They won’t know what hit them or how," Gallant said on Wednesday.
The Iranian attack, a retaliation for Israel's assassination of senior Iranian officials and leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, failed to cause significant damage as U.S. and Israeli forces intercepted the missiles. No deaths were reported within Israel’s internationally recognized borders, though a Palestinian was killed in the occupied West Bank.
The missile barrage highlighted vulnerabilities in Israel's advanced missile defense system. On Sunday, a Hezbollah drone struck an Israeli military base, killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding seven others.
"The THAAD will enhance Israel's integrated air defense system," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said, emphasizing the U.S.'s "ironclad commitment" to Israel's defense and to protecting U.S. personnel in Israel from further missile attacks from Iran.
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have pledged strong support for Israel and have called for an immediate end to the war. However, the conflict has deeply divided the Democratic Party, with younger voters and Arab Americans criticizing Harris for not imposing restrictions on U.S. arms sales to Israel in response to the deaths of more than 42,000 people in Gaza and the blockade of humanitarian aid.
Meanwhile, Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for its reproach of Israel’s military tactics following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
Despite numerous disagreements between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the year-long war, Biden's decision to send the THAAD system ahead of Israel’s anticipated strike suggests his willingness to trust Netanyahu’s judgment.
The decision to send more U.S. troops to Israel as an attack looms raises the risk of American casualties, potentially pulling Washington deeper into the expanding conflict, Miller noted.
"If Iranian missiles strike U.S. troops or Iran-backed groups in Iraq or Syria kill or wound American personnel, there’s a high likelihood the U.S. will take action against Iran," Miller added.
In recent months, the U.S. military set up a pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, but the Biden administration has refrained from deploying ground troops over concerns for their safety and fears of getting further entangled in the conflict.
The risk to U.S. troops accompanying the THAAD system is clear, said Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army officer who served as an analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“These soldiers will be operating from Israeli military bases that Iran has already shown it can hit, and additional strikes are expected,” Mann said. Even with the optimistic assumption that the THAAD system can intercept all incoming missiles, the Israeli military cannot guarantee the safety of the troops given drones that have previously penetrated Israeli bases.
The THAAD system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles, does not target buildings or conduct offensive strikes. Instead, it defends against incoming short-, medium-, and long-range ballistic missiles.
Biden’s administration imposed economic sanctions on Iran's oil industry on Friday, targeting Tehran's tanker fleet in a bid to discourage Israeli plans to strike Iranian energy facilities—actions that could prompt Tehran to retaliate by targeting oil facilities in Washington’s Arab allies.
The announcement comes as Pentagon officials debate whether the U.S.’s increased military presence in the region is containing the conflict, as hoped, or exacerbating it, according to The New York Times.
Some Pentagon officials have expressed concern that Israel's increasingly aggressive campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon—Iran’s most powerful regional proxy—has been emboldened by the knowledge that U.S. warships and aircraft are poised to mitigate any Iranian retaliation.
[With information sourced from WP, NYT, CNN, Haaretz]
