Plan to strike Iran made only two days earlier : Israel

Israel was unaware of the attack during Prime Minister Modi’s visit

Jerusalem (Israel) – The plan for the joint strike on Iran by the United States and Israel was finalised only two days earlier, said Reuven Azar, Israel’s ambassador to India, in an interview to a newspaper. The strikes were carried out shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel, which had led to widespread speculation. Azar’s clarification has now put an end to these discussions.

Strikes on Iran after “operational window” post Modi visit – Israeli Envoy

Israeli Ambassador Reuven Azar said the U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran were launched after an “operational opportunity” emerged following PM Narendra Modi’s departure from Tel Aviv.

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Azar said the attack on Iran was not pre-planned. The strikes were carried out when an ‘operational opportunity’ arose only after Prime Minister Modi had left Israel. During Modi’s visit, Israel had no indication that such an attack was likely. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Modi had discussions on regional developments, and Israel could not have shared something that it was itself unaware of. Approval from Israel’s security cabinet for the operation was received on 28.02.2026.

Preparations for decades and intelligence success

Azar added that Israel had invested billions of dollars over several decades due to the nature of the threat it faced. The country had to strengthen its military capabilities and develop technologies capable of overcoming Iran’s air defence systems. According to the Israeli envoy, Israel also built strong intelligence capabilities to understand the Iranian regime and its defence structure, as well as to gather precise information about Iran’s future plans, the decision-makers involved and their exact locations. Israel developed advanced technologies to penetrate Iran’s air defence system, which ultimately ensured the success of the strike.