[54746] Exposure: Israel operated a secret airbase in the Iraqi desert during the campaign against Iran
Exposure of the secret Israeli base in Iraq
A media and intelligence storm has erupted following an investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which reveals that Israel established a secret military base in the Iraqi desert to support aerial operations against Iran, with the knowledge of the United States. According to the report, the facility housed special forces and served as a logistics and air hub, and was even used to manage strikes against Iraqi forces that approached the area and threatened the base's security.
Israeli channels point to close cooperation between intelligence agencies and OSINT experts. According to the channel of Or Fialkov, published satellite imagery identified a runway approximately 1.6 km long in the Najaf area, just about 200 kilometers from the Iranian border. The channel of Amichai Stein notes that the makeshift runway, which was likely built at the end of February, was located within a remote wadi.
Responses in Baghdad were quick to follow. According to Suli & Blumenthal, the Iraqi parliament summoned the ministers of defense and interior for an urgent hearing following the revelation. Iraqi security sources cited in Nitzan Shapira's channel admitted that they did indeed identify an "unidentified military presence" in the Western Desert during the war, but noted that the US had warned them against approaching the area due to "security circumstances."
On the other hand, questions were raised regarding the timing and manner of the publication. Abu Ali Express criticized the very fact that the information was revealed in the foreign press by an Israeli journalist, while raising questions about Israeli censorship and the broader implications of such leaks. Middle East analyst Yoni Ben Menachem from the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs and Security emphasized that revealing such capabilities, even if they cannot be officially confirmed, serves Israel's strategy in the regional struggle against Tehran.