Israel operated a second covert base in Iraq in lead-up to Iran wars — report

Israel built two covert bases in Iraq in the lead-up to its two wars with Iran, and Iraqi soldiers and civilians were killed in order to protect the secret, The New York Times reports.

Recent revelations from the Wall Street Journal indicated that Israel had built one base in Iraq’s western desert for use in the war that began on February. But Iraqi officials tell the NYT that Israel had maintained another base there, this one used in the June 2025 Israeli attack on Iran.

Israel began building that base in late 2024, according to a regional official. It is no longer operational.

The status of the base used in the 2026 war is not known.

The US knew about at least one of the bases, says the NYT.

Israel built the bases to cut down on flight time for strikes in Iran, and to serve as a hub for logistics to support the Israeli Air Force. They also housed special forces troops and search-and-rescue teams poised to act if any Israeli pilots were downed.

Local Bedouins had seen suspicious activity around one of the bases and reported it, but the Iraqi army chose to try to observe from a distance and ask the US for information.

Washington was not forthcoming.

Awad al-Shammari, a Bedouin shepherd driving to the nearest town to pick up groceries on March 3, was killed by an Israeli helicopter after he stumbled on the base, relatives tell the NYT. He had managed to report the base to Iraqi authorities.

The Iraqis sent a reconnaissance mission, but retreated after one soldier was killed and two were wounded by what was likely Israeli fire.