US Air Force fighter jets and bombers launched attacks on Iran from Israeli military bases in recent weeks, a revelation confirmed by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. Katz told the right-wing Israeli broadcaster Channel 14 on Tuesday that "The Iranians know" these aircraft took off from Israel. He declared, "The arrogant empire that threatened to destroy Israel has collapsed," a statement that underscores the settler-colonial state's aggressive posture in the region. Katz added, "We announced in the clearest terms that if Israel is fired upon, we will attack with all our might. We are prepared to strike Iran." He asserted, "We know how to manage things, and we are prepared." This direct involvement of Israeli territory in US military operations against Iran highlights the deep integration of the settler-colonial project into broader US imperial strategies in the Middle East.
Israel's Role in Regional Conflict
Israel intercepted at least three drones near the Jordanian border on Monday and Tuesday, 1-2 days ago. This incident occurred even as Middle East Eye reported that Israel had played a seemingly minimal direct role in the most recent round of fighting between Iran and the US. The report noted that while the US military and its Gulf allies launched strikes on Iran, Israeli forces did not participate directly in those specific operations. Iran, for its part, focused its retaliatory attacks on US interests in the Gulf rather than targeting Israel directly.
Popular US critics of the war, including Tucker Carlson, have suggested that Israel’s long-term plan regarding Iran was always to have the United States bear the brunt of the fighting. This sentiment was echoed within the Israeli government itself. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich described the renewed US war on Iran as the ideal outcome for Israel, provided Israelis did not have to fight it themselves. Smotrich stated, "Israel has no interest in joining the campaign - the current situation is the best for us," in comments carried by Kan news, revealing a strategic calculation that leverages US military power.
US-Israeli Alliance and Escalation
The close coordination between the United States and the settler-colonial state was further emphasized by a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC 1 day ago. A source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post that it was "a very positive meeting" and that "You could see the chemistry between the leaders." This high-level engagement solidifies the US role as the primary military and diplomatic guarantor of Israeli actions, extending to its use of Israeli territory for offensive operations.
Middle East Eye also reported that the US and Saudi Arabia were actively pressuring Oman to advance what Tehran described as "unrealistic plans" for the Strait of Hormuz. The ongoing confrontation has exacted a heavy toll, costing lives across the Middle East and significantly disrupting the global economy. What initially began as a crisis sparked by the US and Israel’s attack on Iran, followed by Tehran's attacks on the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, has now expanded far beyond a single chokepoint or even a single geographical area. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that the country's armed forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea, demonstrating the conflict's widening scope.
Diplomacy Stalled Amidst Widening War
The Red Sea has emerged as a second front in this escalating regional instability, marked by threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against civilian shipping and the group’s attacks on Saudi infrastructure. Drone launches from Iraqi territory into Saudi Arabia this week provided additional evidence that the conflict is spilling across multiple borders. Networks of militias, drones, supply chains, and shipping routes are now shaping a rolling confrontation, making escalation increasingly difficult to predict and contain.
Amidst this volatile environment, diplomatic efforts regarding the critical Strait of Hormuz have stalled. Tehran has outright rejected an Omani proposal for joint regional management of the Strait, with a senior Iranian official telling Reuters on Wednesday that it had "no chance of success." Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television on Tuesday that Iran instead proposed a temporary arrangement to reopen the strait. Under this Iranian plan, one direction of traffic would pass through Iranian waters, and part of the opposite route would also be in Iranian waters. Gharibabadi warned that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed if Muscat rejected Iran’s proposal, asserting that Tehran had never recognized the southern route along Oman’s coast. Despite Tehran’s rejection of the 50-50 arrangement, another Iranian official told Reuters that it still viewed Oman as a valuable neighbor. Two Middle Eastern diplomats confirmed progress in efforts to resolve the crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, though no final agreement had been reached. They said the emerging proposal focused on a temporary solution establishing a central shipping route between Omani and Iranian territorial waters. Mediators and one US official told The Wall Street Journal that Iran and Oman were still far from reaching agreement on some aspects, including whether to charge transit fees, underscoring the persistent challenges to de-escalation.