In a missive to soldiers on Tuesday, Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Omer Tischler confirmed that a planned large wave of strikes on Iran was called off during the recent round of fighting.

Before the cancellation, the Air Force did strike some targets in Iran last week in response to Iranian missile fire on Israel.

“In parallel with the defensive battle, the air force launched an offensive 1,500 kilometers [932 miles] from home. Within a few hours, dozens of targets in Iran were struck, significantly damaging the Iranian air defense system and hitting additional regime components,” he wrote.

But a larger planned operation did not go forward. Tischler said that by the afternoon of June 8, “the entire Air Force was ready to take off for a broad strike sortie” that would have included attacks on “hundreds of targets in the heart of Iran.”

However, he said, “the strike was halted while we were briefing in the squadrons, just one hour before the departure for the sortie.”

The strike was reportedly nixed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after US President Donald Trump instructed him not to escalate the fight with Iran.

Conflict erupted between Israel and Iran last week for the first time since a ceasefire took effect in early April.

After the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon launched rockets at northern Israel, Israel struck........

© The Times of Israel