US to Deploy Iron Dome Batteries in Persian Gulf States
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States is expected to soon begin deploying Israeli Iron Dome missile systems to its bases in the Persian Gulf Arab countries, according to Israeli security officials.
Speaking to Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday, the officials refused to reveal the countries in which the Iron Dome batteries will be stationed.
However, they said Tel Aviv has behind closed doors given its tacit agreement to Washington to place the missile systems in order to defend American forces against alleged attacks by Iran.
The report also did not name the Persian Gulf state that will host the defense system.
Three weeks ago, Israel handed a second Iron Dome battery to the US under a 2019 agreement between the two sides.
In recent weeks, the US has approved two large arms deals, one with the UAE, and the other with Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli officials denied that providing Iron Dome was part of the normalization accords with some Arab countries, saying the purchase of the systems by the US was signed in August 2019, well before the pacts.
Many observers believe the purchase of Iron Dome systems is part of US aid to Israel, which is now all in the form of military assistance.
In fiscal year 2019, the US provided $3.8 billion in foreign military aid to Israel which also benefits from about $8 billion of loan guarantees.
