US Secret Missile Shipment to Israel Before Strike on Iran

The US covertly supplied Israel with hundreds of Hellfire missiles before its recent attack on Iran, as reported by Middle East Eye. On Tuesday, around 300 missiles were sent to Israel as part of a major resupply effort, coinciding with the Trump administration’s deceiving claim it wanted to continue nuclear talks with Iran. However, this significant delivery suggests that the administration was aware of Israel’s plans to strike Iran, according to two anonymous US officials. This shipment, along with other arms deliveries before the attack, had not been previously reported.

The Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles are a multi-mission, multi-target capability class air-to-ground precision weapons with precision-strike accuracy. Hellfires are laser-guided munitions ideally designed for precise strikes on personnel and command installations, which the Israeli Air Force deployed over 100 aircraft to target senior Revolutionary Guard officials, nuclear scientists, and command centres in the vicinity of Isfahan and Tehran, Iran. Based on a press release issued by the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA),  one can be determined that on February 7, 2025, the State Department had decided to approve a potential Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Israel, which includes AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles and associated equipment, with an estimated total cost of $660 million, which explains the lack of public notification of the transfer.

PRESS RELEASE: Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Foreign Military Sale of AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles to the Government of Israel (Source: DSCA)
Defense Security Cooperation Agency

“We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran from humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out,” Trump told Reuters

At this point, we must assume the US military assisted Israel in its strikes on Iran and in intercepting Iranian missiles targeted at the Hebrew state. Information Middle East Eye has the story…

IMAGE: The AGM-114R “Romeo” Hellfire Missile (Source: Hyperscale)

Sean Mathews reports for Middle East Eye…

Exclusive: US quietly sent hundreds of Hellfire missiles to Israel before Iran attack

Hellfire missiles would have been used for precision strikes by Israel during Iran attack, US officials say

The US quietly delivered hundreds of Hellfire missiles to Israel before its unprecedented attack on Iran on Friday, Middle East Eye can reveal.

The US sent around 300 Hellfire missiles to Israel on Tuesday in a large-scale stock-up of supplies before its attack, and as the Trump administration was saying it was ready to continue engaging Iran in nuclear talks.

The transfer of such a large quantity of Hellfires suggests that the Trump administration was well-informed of Israel’s plans to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran, two US officials told MEE on the condition of anonymity. The US’s delivery of Hellfires or other large quantities of weapons in the lead up to Friday’s attack has not been previously reported.

The US military helped shoot down Iranian missiles that were headed towards Israel, two US officials told Reuters on Friday. Hellfires are laser-guided air-to-ground missiles. They would not be useful for Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, but for precision strikes. Israel’s military used more than 100 aircraft in its attack on Friday, which used precision tracking to target senior military officials, nuclear scientists, and command centres.

“There is a time and place for Hellfires. They were useful to Israel,” one senior US defence official told MEE. Israel killed scores of senior Iranian officials and nuclear scientists on Friday.

The dead include: the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami; Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; and Ali Shamkhani, a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  The Trump administration knew about Israel’s attack plans for months. MEE revealed earlier this month that the CIA was briefed in April and May on Israeli plans to unilaterally attack Iran’s nuclear sites. Israel’s Target Systems Analysis and battle plan for cyberattacks combined with precision strikes without any direct US involvement “impressed” the administration.

But Trump’s behaviour in recent months gave observers, and potentially the Iranians, the impression that he would continue to resist Netanyahu’s very public lobbying to go along with strikes.

Axios reported on Friday, citing two Israeli officials, that the Trump administration was only “pretending” to resist Israel’s attack plans, but privately did not resist them. Trump has since framed his approach as saying that he gave Iran a 60-day window to agree to a new nuclear agreement with his administration before launching strikes. Israeli media reported the 60-day deadline in March 2025.

The Trump administration began talks with Iran on 12 April 2025, and the Israeli attack took place exactly 61 days later.  The talks in recent weeks hit a wall over the US’s insistence that Iran agree not to enrich any uranium, while Tehran said that preserving its right to a low level of enrichment was a red line.

Throughout the negotiations, the Trump administration continued a steady supply of arms and weapons to Israel in recent months, two US officials told MEE.  The US did not have to provide public notification of the transfer because it was already approved as part of a $7.4bn arms deal that included bombs, missiles, and related equipment that Congress was notified of in February 2025.

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