?Israel Built Iraqi Desert Base for Iran Air Campaign

Months before launching its air campaign against Iran, Israel constructed a clandestine military installation deep in the Iraqi desert, according to sources including American officials cited by the Wall Street Journal. The base housed special forces and functioned as a logistics hub for the Israeli Air Force, established with the knowledge of the United States.

Search-and-rescue teams were stationed at the facility in anticipation of Israeli pilots being shot down—a scenario that never materialized. When an American F-15 was downed near Isfahan, Israel offered assistance, but US forces managed to rescue both pilots independently, with Israeli air cover providing protection during the operation, one source said.

Discovery and Deadly Encounter

The secret base nearly came to light in early March. Iraqi state media reported that a local shepherd had alerted authorities to unusual military activity in the area, including helicopter flights. Responding to the tip, Iraqi soldiers drove toward the location in Humvee military vehicles at dawn, where they were met with heavy gunfire. The exchange left one Iraqi soldier dead and two others wounded, the American newspaper reported.

After Israel deterred the Iraqi forces with airstrikes, the Israeli military declined to comment. The Iraqi government at the time condemned the attack that killed one of its soldiers.

“This reckless operation was carried out without coordination or approval,” said Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of the Joint Operations Command, a central security body, in comments to Iraqi state media about the early-March attack.

In a complaint later filed that same month with the United Nations, Iraq stated that the assault involved foreign forces and included airstrikes, attributing it to the United States. However, a source familiar with the matter denied Washington’s involvement in the incident.