WarSclerotic

Israeli F-15s accompany US B-1b heavy bomber on its way to the Gulf; move comes amid growing threats by Jerusalem and Washington over Iranian nuke program

By JUDAH ARI GROSS30 October 2021, 8:22 pm  

An Israeli F-15 fighter jet escorts an American B-1b heavy bomber through Israeli airspace, on October 30, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israeli F-15 fighter jets escorted an American heavy bomber through the region as it made its way to the Persian Gulf on Saturday, in an apparent threat to Iran.

“The flight represents the continued operational cooperation with American forces in the region,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

The escort mission came as Israeli and American officials have increasingly threatened to act against Tehran’s nuclear program, as Iran has stalled indirect negotiations with the United States in Vienna regarding a mutual return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

The Israeli military shared photographs and video footage of the flight, showing the American B-1b bomber, which is capable of carrying heavy bunker-buster bombs that would be needed for a strike on Iran’s largely underground nuclear facilities, alongside the Israeli F-15 jets.

Israeli officials have explicitly threatened a military strike on Iran’s nuclear program, while Americans have discussed the matter more circumspectly, referring to “other options” beyond diplomatic negotiations in order to halt Tehran’s atomic aspirations.Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Editionby email and never miss our top storiesNewsletter email addressGET ITBy signing up, you agree to the terms

In the beginning of this year, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi announced he had instructed the military to begin drawing up fresh attack plans for such an operation, and last week the government reportedly allocated billions of shekels toward making those plans viable.

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared that “Iran’s nuclear program has hit a watershed moment, and so has our tolerance. Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning… We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

The Times of Israel has learned that the Israeli Air Force plans to begin simulating strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months and that some aspects of the Israeli Air Force’s strike plan, which is still in the “draft” stage, could be ready within a short period of time, while others would take more than a year to be fully actionable.An Israeli F-15 fighter jet escorts an American B-1b heavy bomber through Israeli airspace, on October 30, 2021. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel has twice conducted airstrikes on enemy nations’ nuclear programs, bombing Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981 and Syria’s in 2007.

However, an attack on Iran’s nuclear program is widely expected to be far, far more complicated as Tehran has spread out its facilities throughout the country, buried them deep underground, and funded a number of powerful proxies throughout the region who would likely retaliate against Israel if such a strike should be carried out

Opposition-linked Syrian war monitor says several others injured; Syrian state media says two soldiers are wounded

By AFP and TOI STAFFToday, 3:03 am  

Smoke rises in the countryside of Damascus, Syria, on October 30, 2021, following what Syrian state media said was an Israeli strike. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

An Israeli missile strike killed five pro-Iran militiamen near Damascus on Saturday, a war monitor said, while state media said two Syrian soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strike “destroyed a Hezbollah and Iranian weapons and ammunition” convoy heading towards Lebanon.

At least five pro-Iranian fighters were killed and several wounded, said the war monitor.

The report could not be independently verified. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked group with unclear funding, has at times been accused of inflating casualty numbers.

Earlier state news agency SANA, quoting a military source, said two Syrian soldiers were wounded after explosions were heard in the Syrian capital.Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Editionby email and never miss our top storiesNewsletter email addressGET ITBy signing up, you agree to the terms

“The Israeli enemy fired a salvo of surface-to-surface missiles from northern occupied Palestine targeting positions near Damascus,” SANA said.

“Our anti-aircraft defenses were activated and were able to hit some of the enemy missiles,” the source said, adding that the attack wounded two soldiers and caused damage.

AFP correspondents in Damascus heard multiple explosions at around midday.

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out airstrikes inside Syria, mostly targeting Iran-backed terror groups, in addition to Syrian government troops.

It is rare for the Jewish state to carry out strikes on Syrian targets during daylight hours.

The Israeli military rarely acknowledges individual strikes but has said repeatedly that it will not allow Syria to become a stronghold of Iran.

On October 14, an Israeli airstrike on Iranian positions in central Syria killed nine fighters allied to the Syrian government.