The system is being sent from Texas to bolster Israel’s defenses, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing two unidentified officials and flight tracking data.
The Defense Department reportedly is sending a Patriot missile defense system to Israel as concerns grow that American and Israeli forces are preparing for a large-scale attack on Iran following next month’s midterm elections in the U.S.
The system is being sent from Texas to bolster Israel’s defenses, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing two unidentified officials and flight tracking data.
It’s not clear how many, if any, U.S. Patriot systems already are in Israel. But there is at least one Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in the country, deployed in October 2024.
U.S. Central Command did not answer questions Wednesday about potential movement of the Patriot system to Israel or the number of Patriot or THAAD systems already deployed there. CENTCOM does not discuss such movements for operational security reasons, an unidentified official who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said on background.
The command “regularly rotates and repositions U.S. forces and assets to support assigned missions,” the official said.
Earlier this month, the online news outlet Axios reported that the U.S. had sent additional Patriot systems to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to protect oil and gas facilities.
The Patriot and THAAD are the marquee air defense systems for the U.S. military and have been used to shoot down thousands of Iranian missiles and drones since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
THAAD intercepts ballistic missiles at higher altitudes, while Patriot handles shorter-range threats closer to the ground.
The U.S. has deployed the systems throughout the Middle East. Israel also operates Iron Dome, its own air defense system designed to intercept rockets and other short-range threats.
Transfer of the Patriot system is among several recent indicators, including reported movement of U.S. troops from some Middle East bases, that the U.S. may be preparing for renewed strikes against Iran.
Additionally, a third aircraft carrier and second amphibious ready group reportedly are headed to the Middle East, where at least 16 Navy warships already are operating in the Arabian Sea.
On Monday, the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island arrived in Yokosuka, Japan, while the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was participating in a multinational training exercise in the Philippine Sea, U.S. 7th Fleet said on Facebook.
Both ships, along with their component vessels and personnel, are expected to arrive in the Middle East by the end of November, adding 9,000 to 10,000 sailors and Marines to the region, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.
President Donald Trump hasn’t directly said whether he intends to approve additional military strikes against Iran.
Media reports indicate that the strikes would be intended to further cripple Iran’s military, energy and nuclear facilities and force Tehran to make concessions at the bargaining table. But during an appearance this week on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump said it was “getting to be decision time.”
“And now my question is, ‘Do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off?’” he added.
Meanwhile, Qatari officials on Sunday presented Iran with a draft proposal to end the war that would set a seven-day timeline to address U.S. and Iranian concerns, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified official familiar with the proposal.
The timeline could begin as early as next week and several Middle Eastern countries would act as guarantors, according to the Reuters report.
But an Iranian official later told Reuters that the Qatari draft only contained unacceptable ideas. Iran’s position on the nuclear issue remained unchanged, the official told Reuters. Tehran wants the U.S. to end its maritime blockade against Iranian ports, lift oil sanctions and release frozen Iranian assets, Al Jazeera reported earlier this month.
In exchange, Iran would stop fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and resume negotiations on its nuclear program, according to Al Jazeera.
- Security