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

Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler said in a letter published Tuesday that Israel had been preparing a broad strike deep inside Iran last week, with hundreds of targets identified. According to Tishler, the entire Air Force was ready to launch the operation, but U.S. President Donald Trump stopped it at the last moment.

Tishler said the force was at peak operational readiness, with aircraft armed, planning completed and departure prep underway. He said the cancellation order reached the units while they were still briefing in the squadrons, only one hour before the planned takeoff. “The entire Air Force was ready to take off for a broad strike package,” he wrote, adding that the force had been “hours away from the takeoff order.”

The commander said the preparation had involved shortening alert times and mobilizing the full Air Force for a strike on hundreds of targets in the heart of Iran. He did not say when the operation had been scheduled to begin, beyond noting that it was planned for last week and was stopped shortly before launch.

In the same letter, Tishler said that in the long campaign against Iran, Israel has significantly damaged the Iranian leadership, defensive and offensive systems, nuclear assets, the economy, command and knowledge structures, and military and national industries. He said those actions reduced the threat substantially, prolonged Iran’s recovery time, and preserved Israel’s ability to strike again if needed.