IDF denies IDF chief apologized to CENTCOM head after Katz said USAF struck Iran from Israeli bases

The IDF denied a Saudi Al-Arabiya report that Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir apologized to CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper after Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed US jets operated from Israeli bases to strike Iran. The IDF stated Zamir has not spoken with Cooper since Katz's remarks. Al-Arabiya also claimed Netanyahu was furious and a state of maximum alert was declared.

The IDF denied a report by Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya claiming that IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir was forced to apologize to CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper after Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed that US jets were operating from Israeli bases to strike Iran. According to Al-Arabiya, citing military sources, CENTCOM officers were outraged by Katz's comments, prompting Zamir to apologize. However, the IDF dismissed the report, stating that Zamir has not spoken with Cooper since Katz's remarks were published. Al-Arabiya also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious and that a state of maximum alert was declared over fears of an Iranian retaliatory attack. Katz made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview with Channel 14, saying that Iran knows the jets took off from Israel. Separately, the IDF intercepted at least three drones near the Jordanian border, likely launched by Iran-backed Shi'ite militias in Iraq.