Kyle Anzalone, Libertarian Institute) Just days before the surprise and unprovoked Israeli war on Iran, the US shipped Tel Aviv 300 Hellfire missiles. An Israeli official implied they were used in the assault.
On Friday, Israel launched an offensive war against Iran, striking military sites, nuclear facilities, and carrying out targeted assassinations of top officials. Middle East Eye reports that on Tuesday, just three days before the attack began, the US sent 300 Hellfire missiles to Israel.
One Israeli official indicated that the precision air-to-ground munitions were used in targeted attacks on top civilian and military leaders. Ali Shamkhani, a senior aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in his home on Friday.
Shamkhani was part of the negotiation team engaging with the US to work out a new nuclear agreement. American and Iranian officials have engaged in five rounds of talks, with a sixth previously scheduled for Sunday. Tehran recently indicated it believed a deal was possible.
However, following the start of Israel’s undeclared war, Iran called off talks with the US. New York Times UN correspondent Farnaz Fassihi said Iranian officials made it clear that Tehran views Shamkhani’s assassination as “Israel targeting and killing nuclear diplomacy with the US.”
Israeli officials say President Donald Trump played a key role in deceiving the Islamic Republic into believing Tel Aviv was not planning to attack, and the window for diplomacy was still open. Additionally, Tel Aviv says Washington provided intelligence that Israeli forces used in the attack.
Since taking office, Trump has supplied Israel with billions of dollars in arms. In April, the US sent Israel nine plane-loads of bunker-busting bombs. At the time, Israel’s KAN news agency explained the massive weapons shipment came “in anticipation of a possible joint US-Israeli strike, should nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran fail.”
This article originally appeared at The Libertarian Institute.
