Oct 16, 2024, 3:03 PM

Nasirzadeh:

US deployment of THAAD in Israel ‘psychological warfare'

US deployment of THAAD in Israel ‘psychological warfare'

TEHRAN, Oct. 16 (MNA) – Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh has downplayed as part of a “psychological warfare” the US deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the Occupied Lands.

Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday, Nasirzadeh said, “THAAD is an anti-ballistic [missile] system. It is not anything new and had already been brought up.”

“We consider such measures by the enemy to be in line with a psychological war. There is no specific problem,” he added. “None of the threats issued by the Zionist regime is new.”

In its latest round of military assistance to the occupying regime, the United States sent its advanced THAAD missile defense system to Israel along with scores of soldiers and crew to operate it.

Made by US aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, THAAD is an advanced missile defense system that uses a combination of radar and interceptors to thwart short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles, with its missiles having a range of 150 to 200 kilometers.

The system can intercept missiles inside and outside Earth’s atmosphere during their final stage of flight, which begins when the detached warhead re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and ends upon detonation.

The deployment is viewed as Washington’s attempt to test if its advanced THAAD system is useful in the face of Iran’s new hypersonic ballistic missiles against Israel.

On October 1, Iran responded to the Israeli assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC general Abbas Nilforoushan by launching as many as 200 ballistic missiles toward the occupying regime’s military and intelligence bases all over the occupied Palestinian territories.

Dubbed Operation True Promise II, the retaliatory strike dealt a severe blow to the illegal regime all the more ruinous than its prequel in April, with Tel Aviv having so far declined to reveal the extent of loss it suffered despite vowing to respond on several occasions.

While the Israeli regime has threatened to retaliate, Iranian officials have warned that Tehran is "ready" to respond to any adventurism.

The regime has since October last year brought Gaza under a genocidal war and intensified its deadly attacks against Lebanon. The war and the escalation have so far claimed the lives of more than 42,300 Palestinians and upwards of 2,300 Lebanese people.

MNA/Press TV

News ID 223047

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