US returns refueling aircraft to Middle East amid escalation with Iran

The US has begun returning aerial refueling aircraft to its bases in the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran, as Israeli officials believe Washington would give a green light for Tel Aviv to resume attacks against Tehran, according to Israeli media on Wednesday.

“It is estimated that the Americans will give the green light to an Israeli response in Iran,” the public broadcaster KAN said.

Channel 12 said Israel’s defense establishment is closely monitoring the situation following an exchange of attacks between Washington and Tehran on Wednesday.

According to the outlet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold a security consultation this evening with Defense Minister Israel Katz to discuss developments related to Iran.

Early Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the US will “probably” hit Iran again on Wednesday night, following overnight US strikes in retaliation for attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also said that the memorandum of understanding signed last month with Iran to end the conflict was “over.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Wednesday that it had launched missile and drone strikes targeting 85 US military sites in the region, including Salman Port and the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait.

The attacks came after the US military’s Central Command said it had carried out a new round of strikes against Iran, hitting more than 80 targets in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

READ: Iran threatens to completely close Hormuz strait in response to renewed attacks