US and Israel prepare for wider Iran war

Shafaq News- Middle East

Israel’s military has presented political leaders with a plan for renewed strikes on Iran while the United States expands its aerial refueling fleet in the Middle East, Israeli media reported on Saturday.

Citing Israeli officials, Israeli media stated that Washington was preparing to raise the deployment to about 100 tanker aircraft, while Axios reported that dozens more would join around 60 already stationed at Israel’s Ben Gurion and Ramon airports.

US President Donald Trump reviewed options for a broader campaign during a White House Situation Room meeting on Tuesday, including attacks on Iranian infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and a suspected underground site, but had not made a final decision, according to Axios.

On the eighth consecutive day of renewed fighting, CENTCOM reported that strikes had expanded from military and maritime targets to bridges, ports, and other infrastructure across Iran, while Tehran retaliated against US-linked facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and other Gulf states.

CENTCOM confirmed earlier on Saturday that two US military personnel were killed and another remained missing after an Iranian attack in Jordan, raising US military deaths in the conflict since February 28 to 16, according to AP. Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour put the toll from eight days of renewed strikes at 50 killed and more than 500 wounded.