On Oct. 21 Channel 12, citing US officials, reported that earlier this week
Dozens of Israeli fighter jets and tankers flew over Syria and Iraq on routes
resembling attack profiles and approached the Iranian border before turning back
without entering Iranian airspace. US officials suspect the flights were
intended to provoke Iran into firing; Israel notified the US in advance, calling
the sorties exercises and a show of force, while sources said some Israeli
officials may have sought to elicit Iranian return fire to create a pretext for
strikes.
