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The United States was aware of Israel’s extensive strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets days before the operation, despite public denials from the White House, American news outlet Axios reported Friday, citing Israeli officials.
Officials from the Trump administration were briefed ahead of the attacks and did not object privately, even as they publicly distanced themselves from the operation.
“We had a clear US green light,” one Israeli official told Axios.
Hours before the strikes, President Donald Trump stated that the US would not participate militarily but later acknowledged having prior knowledge of the plan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that Israel acted “unilaterally.”
Israeli forces launched attacks in the early hours of Friday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the operation as an effort to “eliminate” Tehran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, sharply increasing tensions in the region.
“This is not an operation of hours or days,” Netanyahu said. “It will continue until our goals are achieved.”
According to Axios, Israeli intelligence operatives spent eight months planning the strikes. The operation includes aerial bombings, targeted assassinations, and covert sabotage missions carried out by Mossad operatives inside Iran.
Israeli officials said the plan was initiated following a retaliatory Iranian strike on Israel in October.
The attacks were prompted by intelligence indicating Iran was accelerating its nuclear weapons program and constructing a fortified underground enrichment facility designed to withstand advanced bunker-busting munitions.
In the opening hours, Israel confirmed the deaths of two nuclear scientists and at least three senior military commanders, including the Revolutionary Guard commander and Iran’s military chief of staff.
Iran has vowed retaliation, threatening strikes on Israeli targets and U.S. military bases in the region.
“We will respond at the right time, in the right place,” a senior Iranian official said Friday.
The international community has voiced concern over the risk of a wider conflict. European powers are pressing ahead with emergency talks on the nuclear deal.
Analysts warn that further escalation could ignite a broader war across the Middle East.
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