When arms become ‘terrorist funding’: Reframing US support for Israel amid Iranian escalation
Key topics:
US boosts arms aid to Israel as vital support for regional stability
Iran escalates with Qassem Basir missile, targeting Israel and U.S. base
Tehran funds terror networks, using violence to pursue regional dominance
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By Phenyo Matabane*
Since 2023, the United States’ support for Israel through arms shipments has surged dramatically - totalling billions of dollars in air-to-air missiles, bunker-buster bombs, and heavy artillery shells. A massive military buildup, yes - but one aimed at safeguarding an embattled democracy defending its sovereignty.
Applauded in Washington, this support is often mischaracterised elsewhere. Let’s be clear: this is not financing terrorism, nor is it destabilising the region or inviting some “justified” Iranian retaliation. It is, at its core, a policy of necessary deterrence.
Today, calls for peace are drowned out by the roar of fighter jets and the clang of weapons crates in transit. But beneath the noise, one reality persists: Iran is not the aggrieved party - it is the provocateur. From missile launches to support for violent proxy networks, Tehran has chosen escalation. Its unveiling of the Qassem Basir missile system this year wasn’t just a technical milestone; it was a deliberate move in its decades-long playbook of ideological warfare and regional intimidation.
The Necessity of the U.S. - Israel Arms Alliance
Over the past year, the U.S. has approved more than $10 billion in military aid to Israel. Some criticise this support - but given the context, it’s not only justified, it’s essential.
Israel today faces an unprecedented multi-front threat:
Hezbollah’s tens of thousands of rockets in southern Lebanon
Hamas’ expanding missile stockpiles in Gaza
Iran’s steady arming of proxy militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen
Within this hostile environment, the U.S.–Israel alliance is not a driver of conflict - it’s a stabilising force. American bases across the Middle East, from Qatar to Saudi Arabia, are sustained with support from allies worried about Iran’s growing footprint. As Reuters has reported, U.S. backing enables Israel to intercept the rockets aimed at its cities and maintain a vital technological edge over its enemies.
Israel remains the U.S.’s only democratic partner in the region, and U.S. arms shipments - often criticised by detractors - are in reality a firewall against state-sponsored terror. They are not a provocation; they are a last line of defence.
Claims that this support amounts to “terrorist funding” are misleading and dangerous. Unlike Iran, Israel’s military actions are governed by a clear legal framework. Missiles target enemy combatants and infrastructure, not population centres. The IDF embeds legal advisors into operational planning. There is transparency, oversight, and accountability, elements that Iran and its proxies wholly reject.
This isn’t war for the sake of war. It’s survival.
Iran’s Escalation: The Qassem Basir and Beyond
In May 2025, Iran unveiled the Qassem Basir - a medium-range ballistic missile with a reach of 1,200 km. Just weeks later, it was used in strikes against Israel and the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, America’s largest military installation in the Gulf. Only one of the six missiles struck its target; the rest were intercepted.
Still, the message was unmistakable.
With advanced thermal-imaging warheads and manoeuvrable re-entry capabilities, the Basir was specifically designed to evade Israeli and U.S. missile defences like the Iron Dome and Arrow 3. This wasn’t a symbolic move, it was a tangible threat to civilian populations.
Iranian Defence Minister Amir Nasirzadeh made the regime’s intentions painfully clear: Tehran "will strike wherever deemed necessary." That’s not defensive language. That’s incitement.
Terrorist Networks as Foreign Policy
Iran’s destabilising influence is not a theory, it is well-documented.
According to the U.S. State Department, European Union, and the United Nations Security Council, Iran’s support for global terror networks is deliberate and longstanding:
Over $100 million annually to Hezbollah, which routinely attacks Israeli territory
Continued funding and training for Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas—both of which openly target civilians
Command and logistical coordination through the IRGC Quds Force
Iran’s strategy is simple: export chaos. From Iraq and Syria to Yemen and Lebanon, the regime fuels sectarian violence and undermines sovereign governments. Its regional ambition is not defensive - it’s hegemonic.
To ignore this would be to ignore the thousands dead from its proxies’ violence, the wreckage of civil infrastructure, and the expansion of an ideology that has no room for pluralism or peace.
Perhaps most chillingly, since the ceasefire was brokered in late June 2025, Iran has executed at least 143 people without due process - according to international watchdogs and human rights organisations. No trials, no juries - just the silencing of dissent under the cover of “national security.” This is not the behaviour of a misunderstood nation. It’s the conduct of a regime emboldened by impunity.
The Qatar Missile Attack and U.S. B-2 Strikes
On June 23, Iran escalated even further, launching Operation Glad Tidings of Victory, targeting Al Udeid Air Base. It was a significant crossing of red lines: an attack on American troops and a sovereign Arab host nation.
In response, Operation Midnight Hammer commenced. U.S. B-2 bombers struck Iran’s nuclear infrastructure at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan using 30,000-lb bunker-busters. The objective was clear: delay Iran’s nuclear ambitions and dismantle key capabilities. President Donald Trump declared the strikes had "completely obliterated" the facilities, though intelligence suggests the setback may only be temporary.
But the attack shifted regional alliances. Even Qatar (a country often hesitant to take sides) condemned the missile strikes and summoned Tehran’s envoy. That act alone underscored how far Iran has overreached. This wasn’t defence, it was provocation. And it has consequences.
Standing on the Right Side of Security
There remains a pervasive double standard when it comes to Israel. It is held to the highest bar of scrutiny - expected to demonstrate restraint even in the face of existential threats - while Iran is too often afforded the benefit of the doubt.
Yet the facts remain: Israel maintains democratic governance, an independent judiciary, and civilian oversight over its military. Iran funds and directs terror networks that use civilians as shields, launch rockets from schools and hospitals, and call for the destruction of a UN member state.
Critics of U.S. support to Israel often fall silent when Iran violates international norms, executes its own people en masse, and targets civilians. That silence is complicity.
This partnership between the U.S. and Israel is not about enabling war. It’s about ensuring that democracies under siege do not stand alone. It is a commitment to survival, stability, and the possibility, however remote, of peace.
If that peace is to have any hope of taking root in the Middle East, it must begin with accountability. And that accountability must start with Tehran. The world cannot afford to keep turning a blind eye to the arsonist while condemning the firefighter.
The time to act responsibly is now - before this blaze consumes everything in its path.
*Phenyo Matabane is a consultant and economics master’s candidate, passionate about Africa’s development. He has served in student governance at the University of Pretoria and continues to support youth-led projects in South Africa’s townships.