U.S. to Deploy Iron Dome System in Persian Gulf: Report
ABU DHABI (Dispatches) – The United States is expected to soon begin deploying the Iron Dome missile system that is produced by the Zionist regime in its bases in the Persian Gulf States, according to an Israeli newspaper.
Three weeks ago, the Zionist regime handed over a second Iron Dome battery developed by the regime’s Rafael systems to the U.S. Defense Department as part of an agreement for two Iron Dome batteries signed between the U.S. and the Zionist regime in August 2019, Haaretz reported.
The report comes against the backdrop of recent normalization accords between the occupying regime and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and two large U.S. arms deals, one with the UAE and the other with Saudi Arabia.
Haaretz said Zionist regime officials were refusing to reveal in which countries the Iron Dome system would be deployed but that behind closed doors the regime gave its tacit agreement to the U.S. to place the batteries in order to ‘defend’ its forces.
Besides the Persian Gulf states, Iron Dome deployments are expected in Eastern European countries out of fear that Russia could endanger American forces, or strategic infrastructure there, the Israeli officials added.
The Iron Dome is claimed to be capable of detecting, assessing and intercepting a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery and mortars.
It was originally developed to counter small rockets that Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups fired into the occupied territories in retaliation for the regime’s crimes against the Palestinians. However, the occupying regime’s missile system has proven largely ineffective in serving that purpose.
Many observers believe the purchase of Iron Dome systems is part of U.S. aid to the reime, which is now all in the form of military assistance.
The U.S. boasts to have one of the world’s most advanced air defense systems which it has sold to its Persian Gulf Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia.
In fiscal year 2019, the U.S. provided $3.8 billion in foreign military aid to the Zionist regime which also benefits from about $8 billion of loan guarantees.
Three weeks ago, the Zionist regime handed over a second Iron Dome battery developed by the regime’s Rafael systems to the U.S. Defense Department as part of an agreement for two Iron Dome batteries signed between the U.S. and the Zionist regime in August 2019, Haaretz reported.
The report comes against the backdrop of recent normalization accords between the occupying regime and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and two large U.S. arms deals, one with the UAE and the other with Saudi Arabia.
Haaretz said Zionist regime officials were refusing to reveal in which countries the Iron Dome system would be deployed but that behind closed doors the regime gave its tacit agreement to the U.S. to place the batteries in order to ‘defend’ its forces.
Besides the Persian Gulf states, Iron Dome deployments are expected in Eastern European countries out of fear that Russia could endanger American forces, or strategic infrastructure there, the Israeli officials added.
The Iron Dome is claimed to be capable of detecting, assessing and intercepting a variety of shorter-range targets such as rockets, artillery and mortars.
It was originally developed to counter small rockets that Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups fired into the occupied territories in retaliation for the regime’s crimes against the Palestinians. However, the occupying regime’s missile system has proven largely ineffective in serving that purpose.
Many observers believe the purchase of Iron Dome systems is part of U.S. aid to the reime, which is now all in the form of military assistance.
The U.S. boasts to have one of the world’s most advanced air defense systems which it has sold to its Persian Gulf Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia.
In fiscal year 2019, the U.S. provided $3.8 billion in foreign military aid to the Zionist regime which also benefits from about $8 billion of loan guarantees.