A combination of circumstances and causes paved the way to Tehran. One of the most important was the fall of Bashar Assad, and as a result, the dismantling of Syria's air defense system. Immediately after Assad fled – in brilliant thinking and stirring execution, the Israeli Air Force understood that if Syria would be clear of anti-aircraft missiles, Israel would kill two birds with one stone.
One – and this is clear – it would be possible to control Syrian skies, and from them interdict on its soil any terrorist organization, weapons shipment or military armament directed against Israel. Two, and here's the genius, the understanding that flight paths between Israeli Air Force bases in Israel to the reactor in Natanz, for example, would be dramatically shortened and become much safer. These days the base is closed to civilian entry, so only through phone conversations can one understand what is happening there. It turns out that even though the Iranians are trying to target Israeli Air Force bases, operational continuity has not been affected for a moment.
Here too, the end of the deed was in the beginning of the thought. The campaign plan was built on the assumption that perhaps missiles would fall on bases during confrontation with Iran. And the plan works. And so the aircraft take off without pause, turn north to the Israeli Golan, break east to Syria, continue to Iraq, and then to Iran. About three hours round trip. The hands don't believe the words they are writing, but the Israel-Iran route is "as busy as Highway 6," the pilots are already joking. One of them, with whom a conversation was scheduled for me, was forced to postpone it because "he had a trip." To Tehran.
The flight is only the tip of the process. It is made possible as a result of preparation work stretched beyond the limit, sometimes under fire, by thousands of ground personnel. The cockpit occupants make it clear at every opportunity that without the technicians, armaments specialists, maintenance crews, refuelers and other role holders – nothing would have happened.
Ground crews, for their part, know that the responsibility placed on them this time is greater than ever. So that God forbid no pilot encounters a mechanical problem in Iraqi or Iranian skies, the technical crew maintains the most stringent level of preparations, maintenance, inspections and treatments.
The aircraft too, F-35 ("Adir") F-15i ("Ra'am"), some of which are no longer young, are working overtime compared to routine. Gaza, Syria or Lebanon are located within air striking distance of Israel. Iran, and it also depends which region in it, is a completely different story. The wear rate is higher. In addition, aerial refueling is required, sometimes twice. This is a sensitive and complex procedure in enemy skies. Above all this, from the moment of crossing the border, the danger of a missile from the ground or air still exists along the entire route.
"These are long hours of absolute concentration and high adrenaline," says a senior Israeli Air Force official the day after his second sortie to Iran. He is not just a pilot, but fills a senior role in the "Air Force family," as they like to define it in the force. And like in a family, on his way to Iran or returning from it, he and his comrades identify each other on communications by voice alone – a surrealistic experience in Middle Eastern skies.
Another experience, significant and much more motivating, is the justification. While they were in the air on their way to Iran, one of the squadron commanders at his base saw the Iranian missiles on their way to the country.
"They saw the missiles launching, pillars of fire on the way to Israel. There is nothing clearer that shows our need to defend the home front, to take risks and defend Israel, than this sight. I too on the way there think about my wife and children, whom I left in central Israel, in the shelter. And I know that when I attack a missile base in western Iran – I am protecting her, them, and of course all the families of the people in Israel. The bond is visceral."
Almost all his years in the force he dealt with preparations for striking Iran. In the past as a regular pilot, and in recent months he filled a central role in planning the programs. They were and remain very complex, dangerous and sensitive, and at the same time meticulous and precise. The plans began to be written from when it was clear that action in Iran was not a question of "if," but of "when." Of course there were also abundant training sessions and exercises.
All these preparations drained into the fateful hours between Thursday night and Friday morning. The aircraft were fueled and armed just beyond the edge of capability. And what happened at his base occurred at others too. Now it can also be revealed that the entire Israeli Air Force was in the skies on that historic night. "Personally I went to watch the takeoffs from the control tower, and also from the command and control center. All the preparations and exercises and training are now being implemented. Everyone reports mission readiness. You hear them on communications, and then it all rises into the air. The excitement is enormous," the senior official says.
Several hours passed, and the first wave returned. "A feeling of euphoria. We already knew in the first hours that we had eliminated the top of the Iranian military, that the operation succeeded, but that now the enemy is also exposed and will begin to act. We prepared for this. The goal now is to continue carrying out all the missions, and we are meeting it. And with each passing day achievements accumulate," he says.
Naturally, many parts of his story are forbidden for publication right now. Their time to be written will still come. But what can and is important to tell about is the spirit. It is the driving force of the tens of thousands of soldiers standing behind this fantastic operation.
"Everything is connected to October 7, and if looking further back, then also to the past of the Jewish people and the Holocaust. The most important lesson is initiative. Not to wait for threats to develop and become established, but to bring them to a state where they are incapable. This is the realization of 'If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.' This is a war to remove threats, a war of no choice, and you feel it in everything you do."
From everything he went through in the past week, there is one special moment that he preserved in his heart, and it is connected to the hard failure of the Israeli Air Force on the day of the massacre. After the first aircraft returned from Iran, one of the reserve officers serving at the base approached him.
"He hugged me and said 'Commander, you restored to us the lost honor of October 7.' For me it was as if someone pulled out a knife that was stuck in my stomach and heart. I really hope that this operation will begin to heal the wound and restore the trust that was cracked on that black day. And we also believe and hope that what was done in Iran will help in advancing the release of the hostages." Amen.
"CNN's beloved conservative"
Although he has never visited the country, for many years Scott Jennings (47) has been defending Israel in American media. In his youth he filled a senior position in the Bush administration. In recent years he has been the "beloved conservative" at CNN.
In panels composed only of Trump-hating Democrats, Jennings is the one who "presents what half of Americans think, or even a bit more," as he phrases it. Anyone who loves American politics will be delighted to watch him. "It's better to light a candle than to leave the room dark," he summarizes his motivation, and also gives credit to CNN for giving him the platform. This isn't taken for granted in these years in America.
And here, after years in which he speaks about us from afar, fate willed it and Jennings found himself here on one of the most fateful days in Israeli history. As is customary with influencers like him, in the week before the war he toured the battle sites of the war, in Nir Oz, at the Nova festival massacre site and on the Lebanese border. All this was just the preview.
"We went down to Tiberias, and then the war began. This is the first time I'm experiencing something like this. You are accustomed, but I saw many missiles and aircraft, heard the booms and photographed a lot. It was powerful. I never experienced anything like this, and it's something I'll carry with me forever."
He didn't keep the experiences to himself, but shared them with his millions of followers on social networks. He updated about alerts, told about running to protected spaces. In particular he was impressed "by the strength among the Israeli population to defeat Iran and radical terror at the end of the war, once and for all. For Israel this is existential. It cannot live with these madmen around it."
On Saturday he was supposed to fly home, but this was not possible, of course. Only on Monday did he manage to escape. A moment before he crossed the border to Jordan through the Allenby Bridge, I managed to catch him for a conversation about his experiences from the war and about his unique role in American media.
"I don't regret that I came," he said at the opening of our conversation, even though the war stuck him here for three days.
Q: What will you take with you to America? What will you tell your readers and viewers?
"My position has always been to defend Israel in the media, because I know how to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys. But I wanted to experience this and to be able to say to many people in America that I was here and saw it, and that many of the opinions they have about what's happening here are not correct, because they simply lied to them."
Q: If Donald Trump calls you, would you recommend that he get involved in the war or not?
"My private opinion is that the battle for the future of the West is taking place here and now. There are more isolationist people who think this has no bearing on us, but that's not true. This is connected to America and to the entire world.
"Regarding US involvement in the war, I think Trump's functioning until now has been genius. The question is what's the fastest way to do this in a way that reduces harm to American lives. Is the way to neutralize the threat when the US bombs or when Israel does it, or perhaps through negotiation? Only the president has all the information, and I trust his judgment.
"And another important thing to say – Trump is the only one who speaks about the Middle East in positive and optimistic language. He already deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for the Abraham Accords, and all the more so he would be worthy of it if he removes the Iranian nuclear threat from above all civilization."
