Israeli Air Force reveals cancellation of major aerial strikes on Iran during recent fighting

The Israeli Air Force announced on Tuesday the cancellation of a "large wave" of planned aerial strikes against Iran, during the latest round of fighting. This followed Israeli raids on Iranian targets last week, in response to Tehran launching missiles towards Israel, subsequent to the bombing of Beirut's southern suburb, a Hezbollah stronghold. Air Force Commander Omer Tischler stated in a post that "the Air Force conducted an attack 1,500 kilometers away, targeting dozens of sites in Iran within hours, inflicting severe damage on the air defense system and other regime locations." However, he affirmed that a larger planned operation was not carried out. Tischler explained that "by the evening of June 8, the entire Air Force was on high alert for a large-scale aerial sortie," intended to target "hundreds of objectives in the heart of Iran." He added: "The strike was halted during our squadron meeting, just one hour before the zero hour." According to the "Times of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the attack following directives from US President Donald Trump not to escalate the conflict. Trump had announced on Monday the signing of an agreement with Iran, ending the war initiated by the United States and Israel on February 28.