The US placed a fleet of fighter jets in the Middle East on stand-by to rescue Israeli pilots if their attack on Iran failed, Israel’s Army Radio reported on Sunday.
“Israel and the US coordinated a plan to ensure the safe extraction of pilots should the operation have not succeeded,” the report said, according to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
The report said the US didn’t participate directly in the attack but was prepared to intervene for a rescue mission. “The Americans’ advanced capabilities in the region would allow them to carry out a rescue operation,” it said.
The US also supported the attack, which was carried out early Saturday, by pledging to defend Israel from any Iranian retaliation and deploying a THAAD missile system for that purpose. Israeli officials said that around 100 Israeli fighter jets, spy planes, and refueling tankers were involved in the operation. The main fighter jet was the US-made F-35.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US was responsible for the attack since it provided Israel with an “air corridor” for its jets to launch the airstrikes, which killed at least four Iranian soldiers.
“The Americans gave the Zionist air force an air corridor, and the defense facilities they sent them before can be considered collaboration with the recent operation. We consider that America’s collaboration with the Zionist entity to create tension in the region is something very clear,” Araghchi said.
Iranian officials said the Israeli jets launched the strikes from US-controlled Iraqi airspace. Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia that’s allied with Iran, has said the US must “pay” for letting the Israeli jets use Iraqi airspace.
“America must pay the price for their recklessness in using Iraqi airspace, and this will happen, with God’s help, at the right time and place,” the group said in a statement, according to Rudaw. “They will certainly dare to attack Iraq if they do not pay a heavy price for their aggression.”
The US support for the Israeli attack on Iran could lead to attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria. If Iran chooses to retaliate by launching another missile attack on Israel, the 100 US troops deployed in Israel with the THAAD system could be potential targets.
