Tehran:Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticized the United States for spending $11 billion in taxpayer money on missile defense systems for Israel over the past three years.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Araghchi expressed his views in a post on X, stating that the United States had fired more missile interceptors in defense of Israel than Israel itself. He described this dynamic as 'parasitic' rather than mutually beneficial.

A table attached to Araghchi's post estimated that US forces had fired 609 interceptors, at a total cost of approximately $11 billion, in defense of Israel from October 2023 to June 2026. The missile systems listed in the table included SM-2, SM-3, and SM-6 missiles, as well as Patriot and THAAD interceptors.

Araghchi also pointed out the significant financial burden that US support for Israel imposes on American taxpayers.