Air Force
Dozens of Israeli fighter jets flew to Iran’s border and turned back, Axios reports – a show of force a week before Israel’s elections
Axios reports, citing Israeli and US officials, that dozens of Israeli Air Force fighters, with aerial refuelling tankers, flew more than 800 miles toward Iran and turned back at the border a week before Israel’s October 27 elections. Israel described it as a training exercise meant as a show of force.
Dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a long-range mission that took them to the border of Iran before they turned back. The flight was revealed by Axios, citing Israeli and American officials, while US officials also spoke about it to Israel’s Channel 12. The mission took place a week before Israel’s elections of October 27.
According to the officials, the fighters, together with aerial refuelling tankers, covered more than 800 miles, about 1,300 kilometres, from Israel. They passed through Syrian and Iraqi airspace, following a route resembling a real strike on Iran. Once they neared the Iranian border, they turned around and returned. The flight took place on the same day US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ovda air base, but the officials said it had no connection to the visit.
Israel informed the United States in advance. It described the mission as a training exercise to show strength, so as to deter an Iranian attack before the elections. US officials said the Israelis knew Iranian air defences would detect the flight. Some went further, saying they got the impression Israel hoped Iran would open fire on the aircraft, which could have justified Israeli strikes. Other Israeli and American officials downplayed the flight, saying it was not unusual and was purely deterrent.
Axios wrote last week that Netanyahu and Donald Trump discussed in early October a new major operation against Iran before the Israeli elections and the US midterms. Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir had warned the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, that a new war could lead to a postponement of the elections, and Trump ultimately rejected the idea. Maariv also reported on the same discussion.
The disclosure comes hours after Netanyahu, at an officer graduation ceremony, accused Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei of allowing his scientists to move toward nuclear weapons and said he had ordered the army and the Mossad to work for regime change. The risk that remains is a miscalculation: an Iranian reaction could reignite the war.