Air Force Chief Says Major Strike on Iran Was Canceled an Hour Before Launch

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler said a large-scale strike on hundreds of targets deep inside Iran was prepared but canceled about an hour before takeoff. He described the plan in a letter to air force personnel summarizing the past week’s events and the service’s operations in the Iranian arena.

Tishler said the sequence began after the strike in Beirut’s Dahieh district, which prompted Iran to fire dozens of surface-to-surface missiles at Israel. He said Israel’s air defenses intercepted all relevant threats and that there were no casualties in Israel. At the same time, the air force carried out operations inside Iran, flying, in his words, “1,500 kilometers from home” and attacking dozens of targets within hours, including elements of Iran’s air defense network and other regime-linked sites.

He then revealed that the next day the air force was ready for a much broader operation. According to Tishler, by midday “the entire Air Force was ready to launch a wide strike,” after finishing armament, planning, and preparations to hit hundreds of targets in central Iran while sharply shortening readiness times. The mission was halted at the final stage, while crews were still being briefed at their squadrons, just one hour before departure.

Tishler also referred to recent diplomatic developments and understandings between the United States and Iran, saying it was too early to know how global moves would affect the security situation. He said the air force’s mission remained to defend Israel, and praised personnel for showing “flexibility, speed and strength in defense and attack, in planning and execution,” adding that the force would continue working to protect Israeli civilians.