Israel began using the Iron Dome in 2011, with the missile defence system reporting a 90 percent success rate and over 2,000 interceptions of primitive missiles, drones and Grad rockets launched by Hezbollah and Gaza militias. It has not been tested against a major state actor equipped with advanced ballistic and cruise capabilities.
Israel has approved the deployment of Iron Dome missile interceptor batteries at US bases in the Persian Gulf, Haaretz has reported, citing security officials.
The paper's sources added that the Pentagon could also place the Iron Dome in Eastern Europe, supposedly “out of fear that Russia could endanger American forces, or strategic infrastructure in those countries.”
The United States operates or has been given access to nearly a dozen military bases in the Persian Gulf, including two naval and two air bases in Kuwait, two naval facilities and one air base in Bahrain, the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which serves as headquarters for US Central Command – the command of the US military responsible for operations in the Middle East region, northeast Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan, plus bases in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
These facilities are situated as little as 100 km from the coast of Iran (in the case of the UAE's al Dhafra Air Base), and none are more than 300 km from the Islamic Republic's shores.
In January 2020, when Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two US military bases in neighbouring Iraq in response…
