The United States has informed Israel that it will deploy dozens of additional aerial refuelling aircraft in the coming days, a move that US and Israeli officials say is preparation for a possible expansion of military operations against Iran. The notification, reported by Axios and confirmed by multiple regional and international outlets, comes as President Donald Trump reviews new military options presented during a White House Situation Room meeting on Tuesday. According to those officials, the plans under consideration go beyond the current campaign focused on the Strait of Hormuz and include strikes on Iranian power plants, further attacks on nuclear facilities to bury enriched uranium deeper underground, and a possible bombardment of the Pickaxe Mountain site, a suspected nuclear facility under construction.

Viewed from Washington, the additional refuelling aircraft — which would bring the total deployed in Israel to roughly the level seen at the start of the conflict — are intended to sustain longer-range air operations. US forces currently operate around 30 tankers from Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv and a similar number from Ramon Airport in the south. Israeli officials told Axios that the US military prefers Ben Gurion because other regional bases are considered more exposed to Iranian missile and drone attacks. The Trump administration has formally asked the Israeli government to accommodate the extra planes, with the final decision resting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The US has not yet taken a final decision on escalation, but officials cited in the reports say Trump appears ready to inflict what one described as “sufficient damage” to compel Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept American demands on its nuclear programme.

Inside Israel, the deployment has triggered a political dispute. The concentration of US tankers at Ben Gurion has already caused severe congestion, and the transport ministry, led by Miri Regev, has warned that without relocating some aircraft, thousands of civilian flights and tens of thousands of passenger tickets could be cancelled at the peak of the summer travel season. Regev, a close ally of Netanyahu, has demanded the planes be moved or their number capped at 20. The Israel Defense Forces and the defence ministry oppose the demand, arguing that alternative airfields in the Negev desert do not meet US operational requirements. With Israeli elections three months away, the potential disruption to civilian air traffic is seen by analysts in Israel as a political liability for the ruling coalition.

Meanwhile, the military tempo on both sides has intensified. US forces struck at least seven bridges around the port city of Bandar Abbas on Thursday, the fifth consecutive day of attacks on Iranian targets in the Hormuz area. A US official described Bandar Abbas as a central hub for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operations, through which ammunition, supplies and reinforcements are moved. In response, Iran has stepped up attacks on American bases in Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait, according to US and Israeli sources. The IRGC also claimed to have struck a US base in Syria, though American troops had withdrawn from that site months earlier. Tehran has so far refrained from direct attacks on Israel, a restraint that Israeli officials attribute to warnings of a powerful retaliation. The broader conflict, which began with a joint US-Israeli operation on 28 February 2026, has not achieved its initial aim of regime change, US intelligence assessments acknowledge, and Iran’s nuclear programme remains functional, with key materials buried beyond the reach of conventional munitions. Negotiations on a new nuclear deal have stalled, and the coming days are expected to determine whether the US moves to a wider phase of the war.