Israel secretly established a covert military outpost deep in Iraq’s western desert to support its aerial campaign against Iran — positioning special forces and rescue teams near the battlefield — and reportedly launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops that nearly uncovered the facility during the opening phase of the operation, according to a report published Saturday.
Israel quietly established the clandestine installation shortly before the joint U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran began on February 28 — with full U.S. knowledge — the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The outpost reportedly housed Israeli Air Force special forces units trained to operate deep inside enemy territory and served as a forward logistical hub supporting Israeli operations roughly 1,000 miles from Israel.
Search-and-rescue teams were also positioned at the site to rapidly recover Israeli pilots if aircraft were downed over Iranian territory, though no Israeli aircrew ultimately required extraction during the operation.
The report also said Israel offered assistance after a U.S. F-15 carrying two American airmen was shot down near Isfahan, though U.S. forces ultimately carried out the high-risk rescue mission themselves. Israeli forces nevertheless reportedly conducted strikes to help secure the extraction operation.
The covert facility was nearly exposed in early March after a local shepherd reportedly spotted unusual helicopter activity in the remote desert region and alerted Iraqi authorities.
Iraqi forces dispatched to investigate the site were reportedly driven back by airstrikes before they could reach the facility.
At the time, Iraq condemned the attack, which reportedly killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded two others.
“This reckless operation was carried out without coordination or approval,” Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, told Iraqi state media following the incident.
Iraq later filed a complaint with the United Nations blaming the United States for the strikes, though the Journal reported that American forces were not involved in the attack..
“It appears there was a certain force on the ground before the strike, supported from the air, operating beyond the capabilities of our units,” Muhammadawi said.
The report offers a rare glimpse into the extensive covert infrastructure underpinning Israel’s aerial campaign against Iran, which involved thousands of strikes that decimated significant portions of the regime’s nuclear, missile, drone, naval, and broader military infrastructure.
Military analysts told the Journal the vast and sparsely populated western Iraqi desert provided an ideal location for a temporary forward operating site, allowing Israeli forces to position assets significantly closer to Iranian territory and rapidly respond to emergency scenarios behind enemy lines.
“It’s normal that before operations you reconnoiter and set up these kinds of locations,” Michael Knights, head of research for Horizon Engage, told the outlet.
The report also appeared to shed further light on cryptic remarks made earlier in March by outgoing Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, who hinted at covert operations being carried out during the campaign.
“These days, fighters from special units of the air force are conducting special missions which could ignite the imagination,” Bar said at the time.
The revelations come just weeks after reports emerged that Israel quietly deployed an Iron Dome battery alongside dozens of IDF personnel to the United Arab Emirates during the conflict to help defend the Gulf state against Iran’s sustained missile and drone barrages — marking the first known operational deployment of the system abroad outside Israel and underscoring the extraordinary level of open military coordination and strategic alignment that has emerged between Israel and the UAE under the Abraham Accords.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.