The Pentagon signed a contract with Boeing on Thursday to supply Israel with four KC-46 refueling planes that are needed for potential Israeli strikes on Iran, although the aircraft won’t be delivered until at least 2025.
The deal is worth $927 million, and Israel is purchasing the planes from Boeing with money from the $3.8 billion in military aid it receives from the US each year. Of that amount, Israel receives $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing, a State Department program that gives foreign governments money to purchase US-made military equipment.
Israel has the option to order four more KC-46s in the future. The deal has been in the works for a long time, and Israel has previously asked the US if it could accelerate the delivery of the planes, but the US has denied the request. The US military would need to give up its spot in line to receive KC-46s in order for Israel to receive the planes earlier.
Israel currently relies on aging tankers for mid-air refueling, which aren’t expected to be capable of supporting attacks on Iran. According to the Times of Israel, Israeli jets would need to travel about 1,200 miles to strike targets in Iran, which would require either the KC-46s or stopping in a Gulf country to refuel.
Over the past year, Israel’s military has been focused on making preparations to bomb Iran. Israeli warplanes recently simulated launching large-scale attacks on Iran over the Mediterranean Sea.
The signing of the contract comes as the US and Iran are engaged in EU-mediated negotiations to revive the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel is strongly against. Israeli officials have stepped up their efforts to sabotage the agreement and are calling for the US to prepare a military option.
Assisting Israel in their bombing of neighboring countries and a seriously stupid policy.
Obviously AIPAC is calling in favors to get this done.
The thing that really annoys me is they “Buy” the jets with American Tax payers money AND bribe Congress with American Tax payers money.
The corruption is blatant and no one can fight this Lobby they are simply too powerful in Washington.
All smoke and mirrors … Israel has been capable of an attack on Iran all along. The reason they have not done so has not been lack of ability but rather the fact that this would be a very stupid thing to do.
Of course it would be a stupid thing to do, Cal. But when has the IsraHelli government ever been accused of doing anything rational?
I disagree … I think Israel is a very rational country. Their task is to preserve themselves as an ethno-state in a multi ethnic area and retain support from the west. Their method has been to paint themselves as always on the verge of annihilation by evil neighbors, thus justifying their apartheid and excessive militarism. Iran had been used as the boogie man of choice for the past 25 years. This whole facade collapses if they actually go to war.
Nicely articulated.
That’s not “rational”, Cal; that’s self-serving.
Why wouldn’t Iran want nukes?
They do. And they always have
They don’t and they never have. Do you know how seriously they take the command against WMDs? During the Iran Iraq war, as Iraq was using chem weapons against them, iran refused to use chem and bio weapons they had from the shahs time.
Never believed them and never will
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said Iran would develop a nuclear weapon if the U.S. and other western nations kept up economic and political pressure on the regime. “The supreme leader clearly said in his fatwa that producing nuclear weapons is against religious law and the Islamic Republic will not pursue it and considers it forbidden,” Alavi said on state TV. “But [if] they push Iran in that direction, it would not be Iran’s fault but the fault of those who pushed Us”
So nukes are “haram” unless we don’t get what we want. Then, they are permitted
Any nation that relies on a religious decree by the ayatollah to make strategic decisions is foolish at the extreme.
So says a person defending a nation whose raison d’etre is based on a 2500 year old religious text supposedly giving the land to its people … you sure you want to be making this argument, chief?
The fact is that they have NOT made nukes so far. You know how you can change their mind? Attack them. That’s why I DON’T think Israel is stupid enough to attack them.
I don’t think the majority of Jews rely on religious text to justify their presence in Israel. They rely on history. The Jews have been occupying that land for 3000 years and continued to occupy it in significant numbers despite conquests and exile.
Iran will build their nukes. I don’t doubt it for a minute. The only question is whether it can be delayed.
I’ve said before that israel does not relish the thought of attacking Iran because the retribution would be very painful. But they are between a rock and a hard place.
Well, we should be clear on what the rock and the hard place is here.
Right now, Israel is the only regional nuclear power, and its goal (which also e.g. the Saudi goal) is to prevent Iran from becoming the dominant regional power.
The rock is that desire, and the hard place is that Iran becoming a nuclear power would boost its influence in the region because a nuclear deterrent would make it de facto immune to severe attack, and give it a stick to wave against smaller attacks. Which in turn would increase the weight that it had to throw around, at the expense of the US weight Israel throws around.
In other words, it’s not an existential threat. It’s just a threat to Israel’s regional influence.
Sorry to disagree. Israel without question sees it as an existential threat. Iranian leaders have frequently alluded to Israel’s destruction. I don’t recall Israel ever threatening to do the same to Iran. Israel cannot afford a mistake here.
“Iranian leaders have frequently alluded to Israel’s destruction. I don’t recall Israel ever threatening to do the same to Iran. ”
That threat is the entire basis of Israel’s foreign policy.
Moshe Dayan: “Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.”
Martin Van Creveld, professor of military history at Hebrew University: “We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets of our air force. … We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that this will happen before Israel goes under.”
You didn’t address the gist of my comment but that’s not surprising. Anyway, after reading this article, why wouldn’t they want nukes? This started 40 + years ago after our puppet was overthrown and today, they’re being threatened into the future with the idea that Israel will still be in need of those refueling planes specifically for the purpose of being able to bomb Iran. This follows years of sabotages, assassinations and air strikes wherever they suspect Iranians might be whether they were invited by the recognized sovereign government, as they are in Syria. No need to think Israel will ever allow any country in the region other than those be in complete compliance or failed states courtesy of their bought and paid for superpower, so peace isn’t even a thought. A nuke deal, the equivalent of the NPT on steroids just doesn’t do it for Israel. Failed state or they pick who runs Iran. So yeah, why wouldn’t they want nukes
They don’t, because they do not need to. Twenty five year pact with China and twenty year one with Russia. Iran has been selected by the eight SCO permanent members to become the ninth decision making member. SCO permanent members include all four Asian nuclear powers (China, Russia, India, Pakistan).
Iran can remain a breakout state — if need be. Currently Russia is building an NPP in Turkey and Egypt, Those could potentially be breakout states.
At present, there is no need. There is a bigger need for stability and infrastructure connectivity across vast Eurasian space. Disruption in Ukraine in fact is rather convenient, as Ukraine is a dead end, not esssential for Eurasian transit links. Voluntary sacrifice of European economies has an expiration date, itt cannot last forever.
People may be lazy when it comes to politics, and consume whatever is the easiest delivery mechanism for “news”. But at some point will not care for the subtleties. But want results they can see. Room for dancing will diminish.
Yep the bigger they are the easier they are to shot down , Russia should start suppling Iran with more missiles , nukes would be a good start.
Why would Israel need refueling planes when they already established secrete military bases in Bahrain and UAE…?!
Once again, the US looks like an idiot who doesn’t seem to know (or understand) which way the wind blows… Just kidding! The United State of Israel is on the job and ready to attack Iran as soon as they get the signal…
The United States of Israel can start attacking Iran but they won’t be able to finish it… Iran would finish it for them…!
The US will likely give them even more, to cover this.
The one bright spot is that the KC-46 is so extremely defective that the USAF is rejecting them.
Israel will never be satisfied. Violence is its way of “life” as nobody else matters.
Iraq and Syria had to be destroyed to clear a flight path.
I’ve heard for years Israel was preparing to do something about Iran. But I got more action playing Axis & Allies board game than this.