Israel ran covert base in Iraq to support airstrikes on Iran - report

Israel built a covert military outpost in Iraq that assisted the Israel Air Force during the Operation Roaring Lion military offensive against Iran, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

The U.S. was fully aware of the existence of the secret Israeli base, which was located in the desert area of western Iraq. Speaking on condition of anonymity, senior U.S. officials told the WSJ outlet that the base was operated by Israeli special forces and established before the war broke out on Feb. 28.

The officials said the outpost was nearly exposed after Iraqi forces began investigating unusual activity in the area. A local Iraqi shepherd also reportedly observed irregular military movement near the site.

The Iraqi government later reported that one Iraqi soldier was killed in Israeli airstrikes carried out to secure the base.

According to the WSJ, the outpost was designed as a logistics hub and included rescue teams prepared to assist if a manned Israeli Air Force aircraft was shot down. No Israeli pilot was downed during the air campaign against Iran. However, Israel reportedly offered assistance to the United States after a U.S. F-15 fighter jet was downed near the Iranian city of Isfahan.

Michael Knights, who heads the intelligence company Horizon Engage, told the WSJ that it is normal military procedure to establish secret bases in strategic locations ahead of larger military operations. 

“It’s normal that before operations you reconnoiter and set up these kinds of locations,” he explained. 

The Iraqi government initially believed the base was American and not Israeli. 

“This reckless operation was carried out without coordination or approval,” the Iraqi government stated in March. 

“It appears there was a certain force on the ground before the strike, supported from the air, operating beyond the capabilities of our units,” an unnamed senior Iraqi military official assessed at the time. 

The report also quoted the then-Israeli Air Force chief, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, who at the time hinted at “extraordinary” Israeli covert operations being carried out behind enemy lines. 

“The troops of the air force’s special units are currently carrying out extraordinary missions that can spark one’s imagination,” Bar said without elaborating. 

There are currently no diplomatic relations between Iraq and Israel. Unlike Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, Iraq has so far refused to recognize the Jewish state’s existence. 

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein threatened Israel while advancing a nuclear program with French assistance.

In June 1981, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor Osiraq to prevent Baghdad from developing nuclear weapons.

Israel’s then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who lost much of his family in the Holocaust, said he would not allow a “second Holocaust” of the Jewish people.

The Begin Doctrine, as it became known, has been a central pillar of Israeli security policy for more than four decades. It holds that Israel will not allow hostile states to develop nuclear weapons.

In 2007, Israel struck a covert nuclear reactor in Syria.

The doctrine has also influenced Israeli leaders in subsequent operations, including the large-scale Israeli airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear program in June 2025 and in earlier joint operations with U.S. forces.