Posted on 06/22/2025 11:58:52 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
At the request of the Trump administration, the Israeli Air Force took out multiple Iranian air defense systems in the 48 hours leading up to the U.S. strike on Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
-snip-
Trump's request was made directly to Netanyahu last week, after the president decided he would move forward with a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities unless a surprise diplomatic opportunity emerged.
"How can we help?" Netanyahu asked, according to Israeli officials.
Trump told Netanyahu he wanted the Israeli Air Force to eliminate as many Iranian air defense systems as possible in southern Iran — to clear a path for incoming U.S. B-2 stealth bombers.
The U.S. then provided Israel with a list of air defense systems it wanted eliminated ahead of the strike, an Israeli official told Axios.
On Thursday, Netanyahu and Israel's Minister of Defense Israel Katz held a call with Vice President Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to continue coordinating.
"They made it clear to us in that call that they were moving forward with the operation," an Israeli official said.
"In the 48 hours before the U.S. operation, the IDF conducted several strikes in the area to degrade Iranian defenses," the official said.
The Israeli strikes, concentrated in southern Iran, were designed to minimize the risk to B-2 bombers en route to Fordow — a deeply buried nuclear facility the Pentagon targeted with 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs.
-snip-
Shortly after the B-2 bombers began their return to the U.S., Trump called Netanyahu to brief him on the strike, according to both U.S. and Israeli officials.
Trump told Netanyahu that with Iran's nuclear facilities destroyed, his next goal is to reach a deal with Tehran and secure peace.
(Excerpt) Read more at axios.com ...
No, but this man did:
Netanyahu congratulates Trump after Iran attack TodayJERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump on Sunday for the "bold" US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, calling the attack a historic
“...eliminate as many Iranian air defense systems in southern Iran ..”
Given the reported total round trip flight times 36-37 hours from Whiteman AFB, the operation would have have to have come from the west/Atlantic side of the earth.
Why the need for southern defenses to be destroyed ?
Not a bad idea though, they should all have been destroyed.
Has Biden called Trump to congratulate him yet?
Biden couldn’t, if he wanted to, operate a phone. He doesn’t have the dime cause CornPop stole it after Biden got out of the pool where the black kids rubbed his legs.
or some other horse sh!t
I’m assuming the B-2s were escorted by US F-35s and F-22s all the way in and back out.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.