The US transferred a second THAAD air defense battery and two Patriot batteries to Israel, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported on Motzei Shabbos.

The report comes amid record tension between the US and Iran and the extensive military operation the US is carrying out against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

A US transport plane, the C-5M Super Galaxy, was tracked landing at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel on Shabbos and remaining there for about eight hours.

The first  THAAD [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System], along with about 100 US soldiers, was deployed to Israel by the Biden administration in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel on October 1, 2024.

It was used for the first time at the end of 2024 to intercept a missile launched at Israel from Yemen

Army Radio journalist Doron Kadosh noted that “we need to connect the dots and look at the whole picture: the US is transferring a lot of military equipment to the region – both offensive and defensive. This joins the aircraft carriers that are making their way to the region and the large quantity of strategic bombers that are already on the island of Diego Garcia.”

“According to publications in international media, the US is placing the systems in question in the area as a possible preparation for an attack in Iran. The meaning: the US is placing a credible military threat in our region against the Iranians, offensive and defensive, as leverage to bring them to an improved nuclear agreement.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)