Visiting Ukraine, Lloyd Austin says Washington is working “to dial down the tensions” between Tehran and Jerusalem, declines to say if anti-missile system is fully operational
The US military has rushed its advanced anti-missile system to Israel and it is now “in place,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday.
THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems and adds to Israel’s already formidable anti-missile defenses.
“The THAAD system is in place,” Austin said, speaking to reporters before he arrived in Ukraine on Monday.
He declined to say whether it was operational, but added: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.”
The missile defense battery was sent by the US military to protect Israel in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack following Tehran firing 200 ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month.
Austin told reporters on Monday that “it’s hard to say exactly what [Israel’s] strike will look like.”
“At the end of the day, that’s an Israeli decision, and whether or not the Israelis believe it’s proportional and how the Iranians perceive it, I mean those may be two different things,” Austin added.
“We’re going to do’ continue to do’ everything we can’ to dial down the tensions and hopefully get both parties to begin to deescalate. So, we’ll see what happens,” he added.
Austin’s comments came a day after two reports indicated that the THAAD system was already operational on the ground in Israel.
The Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday evening that the missile defense battery had begun operations in Israel, citing two Israeli sources, while the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya outlet quoted sources saying that three batteries were functioning.
Around 100 US troops were expected to be deployed to operate the system, which is considered a complementary system to the Patriot system but can defend a wider area, capable of hitting targets at ranges of 150-200 kilometers (93-124 miles).
The Pentagon said last Tuesday that an advance team of US military personnel and initial components necessary to operate the system had arrived in Israel a day earlier.
Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said at the time that additional US military personnel and THAAD battery components would continue to arrive in Israel over the coming days.
Ryder added that the air defense battery would be fully operational and capable in the near future, but the exact timeline would not be announced due to security concerns.
“The deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel underscores the United States” commitment to the defense of Israel and to defend Americans in Israel from any ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” Ryder said last week.
Iran has been bracing for retaliation after its October 1 attack on Israel that included firing some 200 ballistic missiles ┠which it said came in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon last month that killed the top leadership of the Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy, and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head, Ismail Haniyeh.
The deployment of the US system in Israel, including US personnel on the ground, deepens the United States” involvement in the conflict after a year of it largely offering support from outside the country’s borders.
US ships and warplanes have helped defend Israel from the Iranian attacks, but the deployment of the battery puts US troops â” as well as the system itself â” on the ground in Israel and more directly in harm’s way.
The THAAD system ┠developed in the 1990s, with the first battery activated in 2008 ┠is operated by 95 soldiers and consists of six truck-mounted launchers with eight interceptors each, a radar, and a fire control component, according to the US Congressional Research Service.
The Pentagon announcement of its deployment came the same day that a letter was publicized from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli officials, warning that Jerusalem has one month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons.
Over the past week, Israel has said that dozens of aid trucks have entered Gaza via Israel. COGAT, the Defense Ministry body in charge of overseeing such aid, said Monday that 114 aid trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings a day earlier, and that approximately 600 trucks worth of aid are waiting for collection on the Gaza side.
Publicado em 10/21/2024 21h34
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