The United States is sending dozens of additional aerial refuelling aircraft to Israel as it prepares for the possibility of a broader military escalation with Iran, Axios reported on Friday.
The publication, citing US and Israeli officials, said President Donald Trump recently reviewed new military options during a Situation Room meeting, including plans for expanded strikes on Iranian infrastructure, nuclear facilities and the underground Pickaxe Mountain site.
According to the report, Trump has not made a final decision as of now, but US and Israeli officials believe he is inclined to escalate military operations.
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A US official told Axios that at least seven bridges near the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas were targeted in recent US strikes. The city is considered a key logistical hub for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with military supplies, ammunition and reinforcements passing through the area to other parts of the strategic waterway.
Iran, meanwhile, stepped up attacks on US military installations in Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait, and the IRGC also claimed responsibility for an attack on a US base in Syria, although US troops had reportedly withdrawn from the facility a few months earlier.
The US currently has around 30 aerial refuelling aircraft stationed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv and another 30 at Ramon Airport in southern Israel, the report said. Israeli officials told the publication that Washington is seeking to place several dozen more aircraft over the coming days, restoring the fleet to levels seen at the start of the conflict.
The report also added that the US military prefers operating the refuelling aircraft from Ben Gurion Airport, considering it safer than other regional air bases that are more vulnerable to potential Iranian attacks.
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