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Military officials emphasized that American support has played an important role in defending Israeli airspace.
By United with Israel Staff
The United States has played an active role in helping defend Israel from Iranian missile attacks, assisting with interceptions and maintaining close operational coordination as Israel expands its military campaign against targets inside Iran, according to senior IDF officials.
During a briefing with military correspondents on Monday, the IDF revealed that American forces helped intercept some of the ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward Israel over the past day.
According to the military, Iran has fired between 22 and 24 ballistic missiles toward Israel since Sunday evening, while the Houthis launched two missiles from Yemen. One of the Houthi missiles was intercepted, while the other fell before reaching Israeli territory.
The first phase of the Iranian attack came Sunday night, when Tehran launched 11 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district. Additional missile barrages followed after Israel launched retaliatory strikes inside Iran early Monday morning.
While the United States has not participated in the offensive operations against Iran, military officials emphasized that American support has played an important role in defending Israeli airspace.
“All of the strikes in Iran so far have been Israeli strikes,” officials said. “However, the United States assisted Israel in intercepting some of the Iranian missiles.”
The military also highlighted the close operational coordination that continues between the two allies. Similar to Operation Roaring Lion, American military representatives are stationed in the IDF’s operations center at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, while Israeli representatives are embedded at U.S. Air Force headquarters in Florida.
The disclosure comes as Washington continues diplomatic efforts with Tehran while supporting Israel’s defensive operations.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he hoped to avoid further escalation and preserve negotiations that he believes could produce an agreement with Iran. Despite those efforts, Israel launched multiple waves of strikes across Iran overnight and Monday morning.
The IDF said it is now preparing for at least several more days of fighting and is also planning for the possibility that the current escalation could develop into a longer campaign.
Military officials said they anticipated an Iranian response following Sunday’s strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, though they were uncertain when it would come.
“We assessed that Iran would act, but we were not certain about the timing,” a senior officer said.
Israeli officials also rejected Iranian attempts to establish what they described as a new deterrence equation linking Israeli operations in Lebanon to direct retaliation from Tehran.
“We have no equations,” a senior officer said. “The Iranians are trying to limit us through equations, but we will not allow them to create a new reality in the Middle East.”
The military made clear that future opportunities to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut would continue to be pursued. According to the IDF, Sunday’s strike in Dahiyeh eliminated two mid-level Hezbollah commanders operating from a command center involved in explosive drone activities.
Senior officers also stressed that the current confrontation is not viewed as a new operation but rather as a continuation of Operation Roaring Lion.
“From our perspective, we are continuing Operation Roaring Lion on day 42, after a two-month pause,” a senior officer said. “We have an opportunity to leverage the achievements.”
The IDF has already completed several major waves of strikes inside Iran, targeting ballistic missile infrastructure, military facilities, petrochemical sites, and strategic air defense systems.
The comments underscore the depth of ongoing U.S.-Israeli military coordination even as Washington pursues diplomacy with Tehran.
While American forces are not participating in offensive operations, the IDF says coordination between the two militaries remains close as Israel prepares for what could be several more days of fighting.
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