Israel says U.S. bombers used its bases to strike Iran
Israel's defence establishment confirmed that United States military aircraft used Israeli air bases to launch strikes on targets inside Iran, as part of an ongoing round of US-Iran hostilities.
The current phase of fighting follows a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, aimed at Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure.
Israel's role in the most recent round of strikes has reportedly been limited, with the confirmed strikes described as primarily a US operation using Israeli basing and airspace access.
Israeli officials reiterated that the country remains prepared to respond if it is directly targeted by Iranian retaliation.
The disclosure underscores the extent of US-Israel military-logistical integration in the conflict, beyond publicly announced joint operations.
US-Israel Defense Cooperation Framework
US-Israel security cooperation rests on a long-standing bilateral relationship formalised through periodic Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) on military assistance, combined with informal-but-extensive basing, intelligence-sharing, and interoperability arrangements (such as access for US aircraft to Israeli airbases and joint missile-defense systems like Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow). This is distinct from a mutual-defense treaty — the US and Israel have no NATO-style Article 5 obligation, but cooperation is dense enough that US assets routinely operate from, or transit through, Israeli territory during regional contingencies.
Key Details
- The current (third) US-Israel MOU on military aid, signed September 2016, covers Fiscal Years 2019-2028 and provides $38 billion over ten years ($33 billion in Foreign Military Financing grants plus $5 billion for cooperative missile-defense programs)
- Missile-defense systems co-developed and jointly funded include Iron Dome (short-range), David's Sling (medium-range) and the Arrow system (upper-tier, exo-atmospheric interception)
- Unlike NATO allies, Israel has no mutual-defense treaty with the US; cooperation instead rests on the 1981 (and subsequent) "strategic cooperation" understandings, congressionally mandated support for Israel's Qualitative Military Edge (QME) in the region, and case-by-case operational coordination
- US use of Israeli bases for strikes on a third country (Iran) illustrates basing access as a form of alliance cooperation short of a formal defense pact
The confirmation that US bombers operated from Israeli bases is a concrete illustration of this basing-and-interoperability dimension of the relationship, which is normally discussed only in the more abstract terms of aid figures and missile-defense co-development.
West Asia Conflict Dynamics and Iran's Nuclear/Missile Programme
The current confrontation traces back to strikes beginning around June 2025, when the US and Israel targeted Iranian nuclear facilities including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, citing concerns over Iran's uranium enrichment and ballistic missile capabilities. A ceasefire subsequently broke down, and a fresh wave of strikes beginning in late February 2026 renewed the confrontation, with stated aims that reportedly extended to pressuring change in Iran's political leadership as well as degrading its nuclear and missile programmes.
Key Details
- Iran's nuclear programme is monitored under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards pursuant to Iran's status as a Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory; Iran is not a party to the NPT's Additional Protocol on a permanent basis, which has been a recurring point of dispute over inspection access
- The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had capped Iran's enrichment levels and subjected its programme to enhanced IAEA monitoring in exchange for sanctions relief; the US withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, after which Iran progressively breached enrichment limits
- Fordow is a fortified, underground enrichment facility; Natanz is Iran's principal enrichment site; Isfahan hosts nuclear research and conversion facilities — all three were targeted in the 2025 strikes using bunker-penetrating munitions
- Iran's ballistic missile programme, alongside its regional proxy network (referred to as the "Axis of Resistance"), has been a separate and recurring point of tension with both the US and Israel, distinct from the nuclear-specific dispute
The strikes described in this report are part of the second, 2026 phase of this confrontation, extending a conflict whose origins lie in disputes over the JCPOA's collapse and subsequent IAEA-monitored breaches of Iran's enrichment commitments.
India's Stakes: Energy Security and the Strait of Hormuz
India is a major net energy importer with significant exposure to West Asian supply routes, making regional escalation a direct economic and strategic concern rather than a purely diplomatic one. The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, carries a large share of India's crude oil and LNG imports, and any disruption there raises freight, insurance and price risk for Indian energy security.
Key Details
- India has historically sourced a substantial share (commonly cited around half, though this fluctuates with diversification efforts) of its crude oil imports through routes passing via the Strait of Hormuz; the government has separately pursued diversification of crude sourcing (including Russian, US and African crudes) to reduce this dependence
- India developed and operates Chabahar Port in Iran (outside the Strait of Hormuz, on the Gulf of Oman) as a connectivity link to Afghanistan and Central Asia bypassing Pakistan, giving India a direct — though limited — stake in Iranian port infrastructure even amid US sanctions pressure on Iran
- India ran a large-scale evacuation of its nationals from Iran and Israel during the 2025 phase of the conflict (Operation Sindhu), evacuating over 4,000 Indian nationals via special flights and overland routes through neighbouring countries, reflecting the size of the Indian diaspora and worker population in the conflict zone
- India maintains a position of calling for de-escalation and dialogue in West Asia while balancing strategic partnerships with both Israel (defense and technology cooperation) and Gulf states/Iran (energy and diaspora ties), consistent with its broader "multi-alignment" approach to foreign policy
Continued or widening US-Israel strikes on Iran raise the risk profile for India's energy imports and its citizens working in the region, both of which have already required concrete policy responses (evacuation operations, crude-source diversification) during the earlier 2025 phase of this same conflict.
- Initial phase of US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites: began around June 2025, targeting Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan
- Renewed phase of US-Iran strikes: began late February 2026
- US-Israel MOU on military aid (2016): $38 billion over FY2019-2028 ($33 billion FMF grants + $5 billion missile defense)
- US withdrew from the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) in 2018
- India's Operation Sindhu (2025): evacuated 4,000+ Indian nationals from Iran and Israel via special flights and land routes
- India's crude oil import exposure to the Strait of Hormuz has historically been cited at roughly half of total imports, with active diversification underway
- Chabahar Port (Iran) is India's key connectivity investment bypassing Pakistan for access to Afghanistan/Central Asia