The US transferred a second THAAD anti-missile defense battery to Israel, according to a report published Sunday, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported that the battery arrived in Israel on Saturday, as Iran and the US have traded threats in recent days surrounding talks over the Iranian nuclear program.
Flight tracking websites showed that an American C-5M Super Galaxy, the US Air Force’s largest transport plane, landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel on Saturday and remained there for around eight hours before taking off again.
The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, is an advanced anti-missile system.
The first THAAD battery was rushed to Israel last year, and around 100 US troops are thought 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). It also integrates with Israel’s existing multi-tier missile defense systems.
The system has been used to intercept several missiles fired at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, including in recent weeks.
PM to meet Trump, will discuss ‘Iranian threat’
The reported transfer of the THAAD system to Israel came a day before Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu was set to arrive in Washington for a visit with US President Donald Trump, where the two leaders plan to discuss “efforts to reach a hostage deal, Israel-Turkey relations, the Iranian threat, and confronting the International Criminal Court,” according to the Prime Minster’s Office.
It will be Netanyahu’s fourth trip to Washington since the war in Gaza began and his second since Trump took office in January. The visit will also make Netanyahu the first foreign leader to negotiate in person with Trump over the US president’s sweeping new tariff policy, which includes a 17% tariff on Israeli goods.
As regards Iran, a report on Channel 12 on Saturday said that Israel is anxious to ensure that, with Trump declaring a readiness to negotiate a new deal designed to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, Israel’s essential interests would be taken into account. If there are no new negotiations, and with the US sending forces to the region, then Israel needs to coordinate with the US on a potential attack, the report said.
Last week, Trump threatened Iran with “bombing” and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program. Iran has responded by saying it prefers talks but is prepared for conflict if the US chooses that route.
However, on Sunday, Iran said talks would be “meaningless” if the US keeps threatening an attack.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday in a statement that “direct negotiations would be meaningless with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials.”
“We remain committed to diplomacy and are ready to try the path of indirect negotiations,” Araghchi added. “Iran keeps itself prepared for all possible or probable events, and just as it is serious in diplomacy and negotiations, it will also be decisive and serious in defending its national interests and sovereignty.”
The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), General Hossein Salami, also responded to Trump’s threats on Saturday, saying that Iran is “ready for both psychological warfare and military action by the enemies.”
“We are not worried at all,” Salami said. “We will not start a war, but we are ready for it.”
Last year, Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes on Iran after Tehran carried out a second missile attack on Israel.
Israeli jets targeted Iranian air defenses as well as its ballistic missile program, striking factories, storage sites, launchers and research facilities, and targeting one facility believed to be used for the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s nuclear sites are also widely seen as more vulnerable with many of Tehran’s proxies weakened.
Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.
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