From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Air Force chief confirms major strike on Iran was called off last week
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
In a missive to soldiers, Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler confirms that a planned large wave of strikes on Iran was called off during the recent round of fighting.
Before the cancellation, the Air Force did strike some targets in Iran last week in response to Iranian missile fire on Israel.
“In parallel with the defensive battle, the Air Force launched an offensive 1,500 kilometers [932 miles] from home. Within a few hours, dozens of targets in Iran were struck, significantly damaging the Iranian air defense system and hitting additional regime components,” he writes.
But a larger planned operation did not go forward. Tischler says that by the afternoon hours of June 8, “the entire Air Force was ready to take off for a broad strike sortie,” an attack that would have included strikes on “hundreds of targets in the heart of Iran.”
However, he says, “the strike was halted while we were briefing in the squadrons, just one hour before the departure for the sortie.”
The strike was reportedly nixed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after US President Donald Trump instructed him not to escalate the fight with Iran.
The Times of Israel Community.