Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has revealed unprecedented details about Israel’s near launch of a military strike on Iran, in coordination with the Trump administration.
Axar.az, citing Euro News, reports that according to Katz, after President Trump privately informed Prime Minister Netanyahu on June 18 that he had already decided to support a strike—despite publicly giving Iran two weeks to accept a nuclear deal—Israel escalated its military readiness to "P+3," meaning it could attack within 72 hours.
The IDF had already prepared a detailed plan, known as Operation Tornado, which included targeting strategic facilities in Tehran and deep underground nuclear sites like Isfahan, beyond the previously considered Fordow facility.
Katz also disclosed that a color-coded list of Iranian nuclear scientists was created to prioritize assassination targets: red (no plan), orange (partial plan), and green (ready for execution). Joint military drills with the U.S. were held in late May to simulate worst-case scenarios.
The final plan, Katz said, was for the strike to occur on June 12–13, a Friday morning deemed ideal based on the movement patterns of Iranian officials.
Despite initial concerns that the U.S. might not participate, coordination intensified in the final weeks, with Israel pressing Washington to expand its list of targets and contribute to hitting hardened underground facilities. "Trump made it clear to Israeli officials that Israeli success on the ground would bring him closer to action," Katz noted. He also emphasized the importance of minimizing civilian casualties, both for moral reasons and to avoid provoking retaliation.
These revelations expose how close Israel and the U.S. came to launching a coordinated war on Iran, just months ago.