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Israeli Air Force chief confirms major strike on Iran was called off last week
In a missive to soldiers on Tuesday, Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler confirmed that a planned large wave of strikes on Iran was called off during the recent round of fighting.
Before the cancellation, the Air Force did strike some targets in Iran last week in response to Iranian missile fire on Israel.
“In parallel with the defensive battle, the air force launched an offensive 1,500 kilometers [932 miles] from home. Within a few hours, dozens of targets in Iran were struck, significantly damaging the Iranian air defense system and hitting additional regime components,” he wrote.
But a larger planned operation did not go forward. Tischler said that by the afternoon of June 8, “the entire Air Force was ready to take off for a broad strike sortie” that would have included attacks on “hundreds of targets in the heart of Iran.”
However, he said, “the strike was halted while we were briefing in the squadrons, just one hour before the departure for the sortie.”
The strike was reportedly nixed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after US President Donald Trump instructed him not to escalate the fight with Iran.
Conflict erupted between Israel and Iran last week for the first time since a ceasefire took effect in early April.
After the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon launched rockets at northern Israel, Israel struck Beirut, prompting Iran to fire 24 ballistic missiles at Israel. Iran’s Yemeni proxy group, the Houthis, fired two missiles at Israel as well. Israel responded with two waves of strikes on Iran, targeting military and energy infrastructure.
During the first wave of strikes, IAF fighter jets struck nine Iranian air defense systems in western and central Iran. In the second wave, Israeli fighter jets struck three factories at a petrochemical complex in southwest Iran, targeting infrastructure that Iran used to make raw materials for missiles, according to the military.
Following the exchange of fire, Trump reportedly told Netanyahu to hold off on further attacks. The US president, who began the war in late February in partnership with Israel, told Israel’s Channel 12 news that he warned Netanyahu that if Israel escalated the fight it could find itself left alone in the battle.
The president and prime minister spoke multiple times over the course of the fighting last week, with Trump urging an end to the renewed conflict and Netanyahu making the case for Israeli strikes.
Netanyahu had approved a major operation against Iran to take place later in the day. But shortly afterward, Trump called him and instructed him to halt any further attacks so Washington could pursue a deal to end the war. Netanyahu agreed, calling off the operation while aircraft were prepared for takeoff.
Late Sunday, the US and Iran agreed on a deal to end the war that also supposedly includes a commitment to end hostilities in Lebanon. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon eased but did not halt entirely on Monday despite the deal.
