The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel established a covert military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support an air campaign against Iran, citing people familiar with the matter and U.S. officials. According to the report, the facility was constructed shortly before the outbreak of hostilities and operated with U.S. awareness.
The installation allegedly housed Israeli special forces and served as a logistical hub for Israeli Air Force operations, including search-and-rescue teams positioned to recover downed pilots. The WSJ said no Israeli airmen were lost during the campaign.
After a U.S. F-15 was shot down near Isfahan, Israel offered rescue assistance; U.S. forces ultimately recovered the two airmen, and the paper said Israeli strikes were carried out to help secure the rescue operation.
The base nearly came to light in early March when a local shepherd reported unusual helicopter activity to Iraqi authorities. Iraqi troops were sent to investigate, and, according to sources cited by the WSJ, Israel conducted airstrikes to stop Iraqi forces from reaching the site. Iraqi officials condemned the attack, and Iraqi media reports said one soldier was killed.
Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, told state media the operation was “reckless” and had taken place without coordination or approval. Iraq later lodged a complaint with the United Nations alleging foreign forces and airstrikes; some Iraqi reports attributed the strike to the United States. A source quoted by the WSJ said the U.S. was not involved.
The incident sparked widespread speculation across Iraqi and Arab media about the identity of the forces behind the strikes.
Separately, the WSJ reported that the United States and Iran could resume negotiations as soon as next week in Islamabad. Officials and mediators are said to be working on a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding intended to set the framework for a month-long negotiating process aimed at ending the conflict.
Tensions in the region escalated after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which prompted retaliatory attacks by Tehran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping route. A Pakistan-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 8, though an initial round of talks in Islamabad on April 11 failed to produce a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended by U.S. President Donald Trump without a defined end date.
Since April 13, the United States has maintained a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the report added.
