Middle East
Iran indirectly threatens US forces against operating in Israel
Associated Press
October 13, 2024
Destroyed buildings at a commercial street that was hit Saturday night by Israeli airstrikes in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (Mohammad Zaatari/AP)
Iran on Sunday warned the U.S. to keep its military forces out of Israel.
The comments came in a post on the social platform X long associated with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who helped reached Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Araghchi referred to the possibility that the U.S. might send one of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to Israel. Any move of one of the systems, known by the acronym THAAD, to Israel would involve the deployment of soldiers to operate the complex system.
Iraq also warned Israel not to use its airspace if it attacks Tehran. Israel is widely believed to be preparing a military response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack when it fired roughly 180 missiles into Israel.
Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border after a year of exchanges of fire. Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times.
It’s been a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.