Air Force chief says planned strike on Iran was halted an hour before takeoff

Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar revealed new details in a letter to service members about a large planned strike on Iran that was canceled at the last minute. He described events following the attack in Beirut’s Dahieh district, and said the mission was stopped only an hour before departure, while crews were already briefing in the squadrons.

Bar wrote that after the strike on a Hezbollah stronghold in Dahieh, Israel came under dozens of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles. He said the air defense system performed “extraordinarily,” intercepted all relevant threats, and prevented any casualties in Israel, adding, “There is no defense like this anywhere in the world.” He also said that alongside the defense battle, the Air Force carried out strikes 1,500 kilometers from home, hitting dozens of targets in Iran within hours, seriously damaging Iran’s air defense network and striking additional regime assets.

He said that the next day, by noon, the entire Air Force was ready to launch a broad attack, with shortened alert time, full arming, planning and readiness to hit hundreds of targets deep inside Iran. “The strike was stopped while we were briefing in the squadrons, only an hour before takeoff,” he wrote.

Bar also referred to the emerging understandings between Iran and the United States, saying it is too early to know how global moves will affect the security situation. He told air force personnel that their mission remains to defend Israel, praised their flexibility, speed and strength in defense and offense, and acknowledged the personal and family costs. “The eyes of the citizens of Israel are on the sky, on the air power. For them we take off every day,” he wrote.