SECURITY: Israeli Air Force Prepares For Action Against Iran Nuclear Facilities

The Times of Israel is reporting that the Israeli Air Force, "is continuing its readiness and preparations for potential strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities... Due to the dramatic changes in the Middle East... the Israeli military believes there is now an opportunity to strike Iran’s nuclear sites."

• Amichai Stein at  Kan confirms the TOI report on X: "The Air Force continues to prepare for action against Iran's nuclear facilities, and an attempt is being made to enlist the United States to the mission."
• The report comes after US President-elect Donald Trump today refused to rule out US military action on Iran in an interview with Time Magazine, noted in earlier bullet: SECURITY: Trump Says "Anything Can Happen" Regarding Prospect Of War With Iran
• The comments, consistent with Trump's ambiguous public statements on foreign policy, are not necessarily a statement of intent but could be read as part of a broader 'maximum pressure' strategy Trump has promised on Iran - expected to include stricter enforcement of sanctions and could extend to support for Israeli action against Iranian nuclear sites, opposed by the Biden administration.
• Yaakov Katz, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, wrote in an op-ed for Newsweek today that Israel must strike Iranian nuclear facilities now, as it has "a unique and historic opportunity to, once and for all, remove the primary threat that it has warned about for more than 20 years—Iran's nuclear program."
• Israel may have the military capacity for an Iranian operation following the neutering of Iran's proxies in Syria and Lebanon and positive reports of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.