The US quietly delivered hundreds of Hellfire missiles to Israel before its unprecedented attack on Iran on Friday, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The US sent around 300 Hellfire missiles to Israel on Tuesday in a large-scale stock-up of supplies before its attack, and as the Trump administration was saying it was ready to continue engaging Iran in nuclear talks.
The transfer of such a large quantity of Hellfires suggests that the Trump administration was well-informed of Israel’s plans to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran, two US officials told MEE on the condition of anonymity.
The US’s delivery of Hellfires or other large quantities of weapons in the lead up to Friday’s attack has not been previously reported.
The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed towards Israel, two US officials told Reuters on Friday.
Hellfires are laser-guided air-to-ground missiles. They would not be useful for Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, but for precision strikes.
Israel’s military used more than 100 aircraft in its attack on Friday, which used precision tracking to target senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and command centres.
“There is a time and place for Hellfires. They were useful to Israel,” one senior US defence official told MEE.
Israel killed scores of senior Iranian officials and nuclear scientists on Friday.
Hellbound and Down 