US-Israel attack on Iran was initiated due to two primary concerns – IDFpublished at 16:32 GMT 4 March
Lucy Williamson
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Tel Aviv
An Israeli military official says they understood from the political level three weeks before the war that they were heading into another confrontation with Iran.
He says the attack was initiated due to two primary concerns: Iran’s nuclear program being moved too deep underground to be reached by conventional means and a rapid increase in Iranian ballistic missile production.
Speaking to journalists, the military official, who asked not to be named, says the level of integration with the US military in this campaign was so high that up to 70% of the daily activities of the J5 (Planning & Cooperation) directorate are conducted in English to coordinate with their American counterparts.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are talking at least once every day, he says. Air-refueling was a key area of US assistance, he adds.
During the initial strike, the US and Israeli war rooms were synchronised in real-time to allow for immediate adjustments based on Iranian reactions, he says.
The official added that the IDF and the US deliberately projected an image that the Israeli military was standing down for the weekend, to catch Iran off guard.
“We released photos and information suggesting that IDF staff and senior command were ‘going home for Shabbat dinner’,” he says.
