Axios: US prepares to send more refuelling planes to Israel

The Trump administration has notified Israel that the United States plans to send dozens more military refuelling aircraft to the country as President Donald Trump considers expanding military operations against Iran, according to three U.S. and Israeli officials speaking to Axios.

The United States currently has around 30 military refuelling aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv and roughly the same number at Ramon Airport in southern Israel. Israeli officials said Washington plans to deploy several dozen more in the coming days, potentially bringing the total back to levels seen at the beginning of the war.

Israeli officials said the U.S. military prefers operating the aircraft from Ben Gurion because other regional air bases are more exposed to Iranian attacks.

The growing U.S. military presence at Ben Gurion has also become a political issue in Israel. The large number of refuelling aircraft has previously placed significant pressure on the airport, but the issue has become more sensitive as Israeli airspace has reopened and summer travel has resumed.

Trump was presented with several new military options during a Situation Room meeting on July 14 and is considering a broader offensive than the current U.S. strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, the officials said.

The options include strikes on Iranian infrastructure such as power plants, further attacks on nuclear facilities to bury enriched uranium deeper underground, and a possible strike on the Pickaxe Mountain site, which is suspected of being an underground facility under construction.

By Sabina Mammadli