Was Israel truly under threat as it claims, or is it the one threatening the security and stability of the region? And if it acts as it claims, does it act independently of the great power; is it fighting alone?
A report published on 16 June 2025 by Israel’s Kan channel, both through its official broadcast and its social media accounts (Facebook and X platform), said: “Indeed, the airspace is closed due to the escalation with Iran, but behind the scenes, aircraft continue to arrive here loaded with munitions—American munitions—including heavy bombs and bunker-busting bombs, arriving from American bases in both Europe and the United States."
"The Americans, for their part, are not participating in the attacks with us, but behind the scenes, they are supporting us with defense systems like THAAD and are providing us with the ammunition to continue the war as long as necessary,” it added.
At the same time, US officials state that they have not intervened in the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, but that they are interested in ending it.
Some questions must be asked in this regard: Are the United States and some European countries not already intervening in this war in favor of Israel? Is Israel fighting Iran alone without any assistance or support for its expanded military operation? Has it crossed the airspace of at least four countries without logistical cover and supply from the region's active American and European military bases? Is Israel’s multi-layered air defense system intercepting the intense Iranian missiles on its own without US assistance?
The answer to these questions seems obvious. Everyone knows the close historical and current linkage between Israel, the United States, and Western countries, especially Britain.
Despite this, some believe the American narrative that it is not participating in this war with Israel.
Therefore, this article aims to refute this narrative and present a more realistic vision of the current military scene by discussing several axes.
The first is the legal framework governing the United States’ obligation to assist Israel militarily.
A matrix of military and defense agreements reflects the convergence of political will and strategic interests between Israel and the United States in the Middle East. This matrix can be briefly outlined as follows.
1. 1979 Memorandum of Understanding: This allowed Israeli military industries to participate in the US Department of Defense tenders and cooperation in research and development.
2. 1981 Strategic Cooperation Agreement: This agreement organizes joint military exercises and storage of US equipment in Israel, allowing technology exchange.
3. 1983 Military Cooperation Agreement: This reactivated the 1981 agreement and added provisions such as the use of Israeli bases by US forces.
4. 1987 Cooperation Memorandum: It included agreements for exchanging defense information and military research and development cooperation.
5. 1992 Agreement after the Gulf War: It included linking Israel to the US early warning network, missile defense funding, and storage of US weapons in Israel.
6. 1996 Memorandum of Understanding: It confirmed cooperation in combating “terrorism,” missile defense, and Israel’s right to use US stockpiles in emergencies.
7. 1998 Memorandum of Understanding: It grants unconditional US support to protect Israel’s security and promises of US military strikes if Israel is attacked with unconventional weapons.
8. 2001 Memorandum: This increased military aid to $4.2 billion annually.
9. 2007–2017 Memorandum: It grants annual US military support for 10 years at $3 billion as part of a $30 billion total package.
10. 2019–2028 US-Israel Security Assistance Memorandum of Understanding: It was signed on 14 September 2016 to be in force from fiscal year 2019 to 2028. The total aid is $38 billion over 10 years: $33 billion in direct military assistance and $5 billion for missile defense.
The aim is to enhance Israel’s qualitative security, ensure its regional military superiority, and support its defensive and offensive capabilities against regional threats, especially from Iran and Hezbollah.
The US stipulated that Israel should not request additional missile defense funding from Congress except in emergencies. Starting in 2028, Israel must spend all aid on purchases from US defense industries only.
Despite tensions between Obama and Netanyahu over the nuclear deal with Iran, the memorandum was signed as a renewal of the previous one (2007).
11. Emergency Funding Agreement for the Iron Dome after the 2021 Gaza War: The US provided $1 billion to Israel.
12. 2023 Congressional Pledges to Protect Israel’s Qualitative Edge: After the Gaza war began in October 2023, Congress pledged to increase Israel’s military stockpile, support F-35 deliveries, and enhance defense industry cooperation.
13. 2024 Agreement to Enhance US Emergency Military Stockpiles in Israel: This expanded the stockpile to include heavy equipment and precision munitions worth at least $500 million, with immediate access for the Israeli military in emergencies.
14. 2024 Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Military AI Programmes: This aimed to develop joint algorithms for drone guidance, precision targeting, and border monitoring, with joint funding from both defense ministries.
15. 2025 Proposed Legislation for Layered Defense Capabilities (H.R.1229 – United States–Israel Defense Partnership Act): This included establishing a broader security partnership covering unmanned systems, advanced technology transfer in AI, cybersecurity, directed energy, ballistic missile defense integration, extending US stockpiles in Israel to 2029, creating a US defense innovation unit in Israel, and expanding joint air and missile defense cooperation.
16. 2025 Expanded Strategic Security Memorandum (February): This is part of Trump’s strategy at the start of his second term to reinstate the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran. It called for strengthened security cooperation and planned military intervention to counter Iran’s nuclear programme and missile attacks on Israel (April 2024 and beyond). The main content included joint deterrence commitments, expanded logistics stockpiles, and deepened intelligence cooperation between the CIA and Mossad, focusing on technical integration.
The strategic military alliance between Israel and the United States goes beyond these legal and political commitments and extends into many areas too numerous to mention.
Examples from 2023 to 2025 include the largest Juniper Oak exercise in 2023, THAAD deployment in October 2024, and joint air training in March 2025 involving F-35s, F-15s, and US B-52 bombers.
US military aid has averaged $4 billion annually during normal years (2017–2022), rising to $4.8 billion in 2021, $17.9 billion in 2023, $22 billion in 2024, and about $6.5 billion in the first half of 2025.
Israel’s military arsenal relies deeply on the United States, representing American participation in Israel’s wars regardless of the justice of these wars or their violations of international and humanitarian law.
Some may argue this does not necessarily mean direct US involvement in the current war with Iran, but this possibility will be discussed below.
The second axis is the US interests in Israel’s war on Iran.
The US views preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons as a strategic interest, tied to ensuring Israel’s security and preventing a regional nuclear arms race.
This position was reflected in the 2023 House Resolution 559. The resolution declares that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable and affirms that all necessary means should be used to prevent it, supporting allies’ and partners’ freedom of action (including Israel’s).
This clear and firm stance shows the US legislative branch’s determination to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions by any means.
The US approval of Israel’s 13 June 2025 attack is also reflected in indicators suggesting American involvement in planning and timing the strikes.
These include the approaching expiry of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, recent IAEA reports on Iran’s nuclear progress, US and Israeli intelligence cooperation, and overlapping US-Israeli goals targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes.
The third axis is the direct US/Western military support to Israel.
The United States has not participated in offensive operations inside Iran. Still, it provides Israel with a comprehensive defensive shield through a hybrid defensive strategy combining naval power projection, advanced munitions, logistical supply lines, enhancement of Israeli air and naval defenses, intelligence cooperation, and increased military resupply, making the war unequal.
Not to mention, the threat of direct intervention if necessary constitutes a real deterrent to Iran, regardless of the media and political statements of Iranian officials.
The most notable American military contributions in support of Israel since the start of its operation against Iran on 13 June 2025 up to the time of writing include the following.
1. Air defense support: The United States helps intercept Iranian missiles, according to US officials’ statements to Reuters. US air defense systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel intercept ballistic missiles launched by Tehran on 13 June in response to Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The US deployed Patriot and THAAD systems from its bases in the Middle East, and US naval vessels in the eastern Mediterranean destroyed Iranian ballistic missiles headed toward Israeli territory.
2. The US moved military resources, including ships, to the Middle East in response to Iranian strikes on Israeli cities. US officials said the Navy directed the USS Thomas Hudner, capable of ballistic missile defense, to move from the western to the eastern Mediterranean, where it fired interceptor missiles at more than 370 ballistic missiles launched by Iran since the start of the operation. The USS Arleigh Burke was also moved forward to be available if the White House requested. These destroyers are equipped with the Aegis Combat System. They can launch Standard Missile 2 (SM-2) and SM-3 interceptors for high-altitude ballistic missile defense and Mk-45 CIWS guns for short-range threats like Iranian drones.
3. The USS Nimitz carrier strike group, one of the oldest US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, was diverted from a mission to Vietnam at the end of May 2025 and sent on 16 June 2025 toward the Arabian Gulf to support operations against Iran. This led to two US carriers being present simultaneously in the region, a rare move reflecting strategic escalation. The USS Carl Vinson had been stationed in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden since April 2025 to counter the Houthis and protect shipping lanes. This dual deployment strengthened US deterrence capabilities and created a powerful air and strategic umbrella in the Middle East. This deployment is linked to reinforcing the US naval presence in the Red Sea with armored ships blocking missile and drone attacks by the Houthis against Israel as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
4. US aerial support for Israel: US fighter jets patrol Middle Eastern skies to protect personnel and facilities, and US air bases in the region have taken additional security precautions. Before Israel’s strike on Iran, at 5am on 13 June, Flightradar24 detected US and British aircraft leaving Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar toward Europe, avoiding Iraqi and Syrian airspace, even though the attack had not yet begun. As the Israeli attack commenced, other military aircraft became active, taking off from or returning to Al Udeid. All were military planes on reconnaissance, information gathering, or refueling missions.
The first plane to leave Al Udeid was a British Royal Air Force Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint, an advanced electronic reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. It features sophisticated sensors allowing its crew to detect, locate, and analyze electronic signals and immediately relay information to support military and intelligence operations.
In the same context, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that his country recently sent Typhoon fighters and refueling aircraft to the Middle East, though without publicly announcing direct support for the Israeli attack on Iran.
Other larger and more versatile aircraft include the US Air Force Boeing KC-46A Pegasus (serial number 20-46076), a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft for transport and medical evacuation.
On 12 June, a US KC-135R Stratotanker arrived at Al Udeid, a modernized air refueling aircraft. Its radar showed no activity on 13 June, but the plane left Al Udeid early on 14 June, bound for Britain.
Meanwhile, another KC-46A Pegasus appeared near Iranian airspace. Its signal suddenly became visible after being off, likely returning from a refueling mission.
5. The US provided Israel with immediate, direct intelligence using advanced satellite and electronic surveillance systems. This intelligence enabled precise targeting of complex, well-defended Iranian sites, allowing Israel to hit command centres, nuclear facilities, and air defense systems in Tehran and surrounding areas.
Reports indicated that US satellites tracked Iranian missile launches and trajectories, enabling real-time Israeli responses and effective air defense targeting. This information supported ongoing air operations, helping Israeli forces execute precise strikes that conveyed control over Iranian airspace, particularly after strikes on Iranian airports.
6. Since 13 June 2025, the US has supplied Israel with advanced munitions, including JDAM kits that turn unguided bombs into GPS/INS-guided “smart” bombs. Thousands of these were transferred for cost-effective precision strikes. These included GBU-31 (2,000 lbs), GBU-32 (1,000 lbs), BLU-109 2,000 lb bunker-busters, and heavy unguided MK-84/82 bombs (approx. 500 lbs).
7. The US also provided Israel with air defense launchers and batteries, interceptor missiles like Tamir and Arrow-3 upgrades for higher-altitude ballistic missile interception, and Hellfire, AMRAAM, and SPICE munitions. These supplies enabled Israel to deliver precise strikes, reduce civilian casualties, and counter fortified targets effectively while maintaining strong deterrence against Iranian missile attacks.
The strategic relationship and close bond between Israel and the United States confirm the full American partnership in Israel’s war on Iran. The rush by European states to declare Israel’s right to self-defense, even though it initiated the hostilities, further reflects the West’s complete bias in favor of Israel.
Israel has never been alone in the Middle East. Britain imposed it on the region through the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and perhaps earlier.
The United States has protected it since 1956, providing support, aid, and cover that prevents other major powers from criticizing Israel or effectively assisting its adversaries for fear of facing American retaliation.
Asking whether the United States is directly involved in this war is meaningless; it is already present to achieve its diverse strategic interests in the Middle East.
It has relied on Israel to restructure the region since October 2023, a pace that has accelerated since the return of the Trump administration and its determined pursuit of deals to resolve US crises at the expense of others in the Middle East and beyond.
*The writer is a professor of International Relations at Cairo University and the director of the Defense Programme at the Egyptian Centre for Strategic Studies.
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