The reported deployment request has also sparked a debate inside Israel, with Transport Minister Miri Regev favouring a reduction in US aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport while the Defence Ministry and the IDF oppose any relocation.
File image: US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters | Photo source: X/@WhiteHouse
The United States is preparing to send dozens of additional military refuelling aircraft to Israel as President Donald Trump considers widening military operations against Iran, according to an Axios report that cited three US and Israeli officials.
The proposed deployment comes as the White House weighs its next steps after several days of strikes against Iranian targets. Officials quoted in the report said Trump has not approved a broader campaign yet, but military options remain under active consideration, and a decision could come within days.
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Axios reported that Trump reviewed a range of military plans during a Situation Room meeting earlier this week.
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The options reportedly include strikes on Iran’s energy and civilian infrastructure, including power plants. Other proposals involve fresh attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities to push its stockpile of enriched uranium deeper underground, along with a possible strike on the underground Pickaxe Mountain site, which is believed to be under development.
According to the report, the objective of a wider offensive would be to increase pressure on Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept US demands related to its nuclear programme.
US and Israeli officials cited by Axios said such an escalation remains under consideration and could be authorised in the coming days.
Axios reported that the US already has around 30 military refuelling aircraft stationed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, with a similar number operating from Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
Israeli officials told the publication that Washington intends to deploy several dozen more aircraft, restoring the fleet to levels seen at the beginning of the conflict.
The report said the US military prefers using Ben Gurion Airport because other air bases in the region are viewed as more vulnerable to potential Iranian attacks.
According to Axios, US forces have continued striking Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz and southern Iran over the past several days.
A US official quoted in the report said American forces recently targeted at least seven bridges near Bandar Abbas, an important logistics centre for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The strikes were intended to disrupt the movement of ammunition, supplies and reinforcements.
The report said Iran has responded by stepping up attacks on US military facilities in Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait.
The IRGC also claimed responsibility for an attack on a US base in Syria. Axios noted, however, that American troops had withdrawn from that base several months earlier.
The planned aircraft deployment has also triggered debate within Israel, the report said.
According to Axios, Israel’s Transport Minister, Miri Regev, has argued that the growing US military presence at Ben Gurion Airport is affecting commercial operations as summer travel picks up. The report said Israel’s Defence Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) oppose relocating the aircraft.
Axios added that the Trump administration has formally asked Israel to accommodate the additional refuelling aircraft. The final decision is expected to rest with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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