Play store
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has claimed that the United States spent around $11 billion in taxpayer money over the past three years to protect Israel from missile attacks.
Araghchi said Washington had fired more interceptor missiles than Israel itself to defend the country, questioning the nature of the US-Israel relationship.
In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Araghchi described the relationship as “parasitic rather than mutually beneficial,” arguing that extensive US military and financial support for Israel reflected an unequal partnership rather than shared interests.
According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing an infographic published by analyst Stephen Semler, the United States launched an estimated 609 interceptor missiles to defend Israel between October 2023 and June 2026, at an estimated cost of about $11 billion.
The infographic put US spending on missile defence for Israel at around $4.8 billion in June 2025 and approximately $5.2 billion between February and May 2026.
The interceptor systems cited included SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 missiles, as well as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot systems.
The figures were cited in support of Araghchi’s criticism of Washington’s military backing for Israel. The spending estimates and comparison of interceptor launches were attributed to the infographic and were not independently verified in the supplied report.
