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The New York Times, quoting unnamed U.S. officials, reported June 20 that Israel had conducted a major military exercise earlier in June as a rehearsal for a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighter jets took part in maneuvers over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June. The exercise also included helicopters, which could be used in rescuing downed pilots, with the helicopters and refueling tankers flying more than 900 miles — roughly the same distance between Israel and Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.
An anonymous Pentagon official briefed on the exercise said a goal of the practice flights was to send a message that the Jewish state was prepared to act militarily if diplomatic efforts failed to halt Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. “They wanted us to know, they wanted the Europeans to know, and they wanted the Iranians to know,” the Pentagon official was quoted as saying. “There’s a lot of signaling going on at different levels.” The report added that Iran has shown signs that it is taking the threat of an Israeli attack seriously and is beefing up air defenses and increasing patrols.
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