Earlier, aircraft tracking sites reported the arrival of a US Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo plane at Israel’s Nevatim Air Base in the northern Negev desert. The aircraft, which flew in from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, has reportedly delivered the THAAD battery.
The US sent the first battery to Israel in October 2024 at the request of Tel Aviv.
THAAD—the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system—is a mobile, high-altitude missile defense platform that can intercept ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere.
The latest deployment, which comes amid rising regional tensions over Trump’s threats of war against Iran, adds to the more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment the United States has supplied to Israel since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, according to Israel’s military.
Iran has repeatedly said that Washington’s deployment of the THAAD battery to Israel is part of its “psychological warfare.”
The deployment also comes as Netanyahu of Israel is set to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday, the prime minister’s office said late Saturday.
It said that Netanyahu will discuss issues, including US tariffs on Israeli imports, Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza, and the “Iranian threat” with Trump.
Trump threatened on March 30 to “bomb” Iran if Tehran does not make a deal over its nuclear program with Washington. Tehran said in response that the US president’s open threat against the country is an affront to global peace and security.
