Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a sorties Monday, flying to the Iranian border, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.
Why it’s important: The operation, more than 800 miles from Israel, took place a week before Israeli elections and on the same day Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel’s Ovda Air Base. The outing was not related to Hegseth’s visit.
- Although some Israeli and U.S. officials said the exit was not unusual and aimed to deter Iran, it could have led to a miscalculation, triggering an Iranian response and restart the war.
Behind the scenes: The exercise involved dozens of combat aircraft and refueling aircraft, the sources said.
- It followed a flight path consistent with a potential attack on Iran, passing through Syrian and Iraqi airspace.
- As the plane approached the Iranian border, they turned around and returned to Israel, the sources said.
The plot: U.S. officials said the Israelis knew Iranian air defense systems would detect the exit.
- According to the sources, Israel informed the United States in advance and described the operation as a training exercise intended to “project power” and aimed at deterring Iran from launching attacks against Israel before the elections.
- However, some U.S. sources said they were left with the impression that Israel was hoping the Iranians would fire on the plane, thereby justifying the launch of strikes against Iran.
- Fox News reported Tuesday that the Israeli Air Force conducted an exercise toward Iran.
Driving the news: Last week, Axios reported that Netanyahu and President Trump discussed the possibility of launching a major new project in early October. operation against Iran before the Israeli and American elections.
- Netanyahu told Trump he was concerned about Israeli intelligence indicating Iran was taking troubling steps to reconstitute its nuclear program.
- Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine at the time that resuming war within that time frame could lead to the postponement of Israeli elections, given that Iran would likely retaliate, the sources said.
- Trump initially seemed inclined to resume the attacks, but then became hesitant and ultimately decided to reject Netanyahu’s proposal.
State of play: An Israeli official said Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir would not authorize any unwarranted military activity that could compromise the Oct. 27 elections.
What he says: On Wednesday, Netanyahu said at a military graduation ceremony that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “decided to follow in his father’s footsteps” and allowed Iranian scientists to move forward in building a nuclear weapon.
- “He has removed security and Iran is once again trying to develop its deadly bombs,” Netanyahu said.
- “Therefore, there is only one way to eliminate this threat once and for all: to overthrow the Iranian regime. And this is the directive I have given to the IDF, the Mossad and the security agencies,” he added.
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