The New York Times has carried out an unprecedented investigation into the covert military activities of Israel in Iraq before the present-day war against Iran. According to sources quoted in the article released by the New York Times on May 17, 2026, Tel Aviv managed to set up two secret facilities in the western part of Iraq to conduct attacks against Iran. It is noteworthy that Israel has been running its covert activities from these makeshift bases in Iraq for more than one year, despite the fact that Iraq was officially allied with Iran in the regional power games.
The presence of these bases has been a calculated risk undertaken by Israel, exploiting the lack of control exercised by the Iraqi government over its western desert areas in order to deploy forward bases from which operations against Iran could be launched much faster. As per the report, the first base came up just prior to the onset of hostilities in February 2026, while the second one had been in preparation since late 2024, playing an active role in the June 2025 attacks on Iran, referred to as “Operation Rising Lion.”
First Base: The Foundation of Israel’s Iraqi Footprint
The first Israeli camp, which was revealed in the Wall Street Journal on March 6, 2026, formed the basis of Israel’s clandestine activities in Iraq. The camp was not only home to the Israeli commando units but also formed an important logistics base for air raids by the Israeli Air Force against Iran. The camp had advanced search-and-rescue systems that could help to rescue Israeli fighter pilots who were shot down while flying over Iran.
“Israel built and defended a secret Iran war base in Iraq,”
according to the Wall Street Journal’s reporting, which obtained confirmation from US officials who acknowledged that the first base was constructed with American knowledge and backing.
This involvement by the US makes the already complicated geopolitical scenario even more complex since the US has traditionally remained neutral while allegedly helping Israel prepare their forces within Iraqi soil.
The importance of this site cannot be understated because having its forces in western Iraq made it much closer to the Iranian nuclear facilities as well as other military installations, reducing flying hours by several hundred kilometers. Equally important was the fact that the base gave the aircraft an alternative landing option should something go wrong with it, besides serving as a launching point for special forces teams into Iran.
Second Base: Extended Preparation and Operational History
The second base was exposed by the New York Times probe and is an example of premeditated plans of Israel to gain a foothold in Iraq, which would allow it to have a permanent presence there. The construction of this base started in late 2024, well over a year before it was publicly known, showing that Israel was preparing itself for war with Iran.
“His encounter ultimately exposed both secret bases that Israel intermittently operated for over a year,”
explained Mr. al-Shammari, an Iraqi official whose interaction with the site led to the revelation of Israel’s covert operations.
This highlights how dangerous it is for the Israelis to maintain such facilities in unfriendly territories, as any brief interaction between their people and locals can unravel the whole secret mission.
The second facility was involved in the Israeli military operation known as “Operation Rising Lion,” which saw Israel make substantial attacks on its enemy, Iran, in June 2025. In the same light, this proves that the Israeli government did not just set up these clandestine facilities but actually utilized them in executing military missions. This implies that since the second base had been rendered inactive by the time the New York Times report came out, it means that Israel had either left the facility or moved its operations elsewhere following the war.
Strategic Implications for Regional Power Dynamics
The presence of Israeli forces in Iraq can be considered as an indication of a fundamental alteration in the balance of power in the region, posing a threat to existing alliances that have long governed Middle Eastern geopolitics. Iraq, which viewed Iran as a regional ally, became a venue for military activity by Israeli forces in defiance of its own government’s policies. This is an indication of the lack of sovereignty of the Iraqi state, unable to exert control over its own territory.
“Israel was utilizing a base to aid military endeavors against Iran, despite Iran being a regional ally of Baghdad,”
senior Iraqi and regional officials told the New York Times, revealing the uncomfortable reality that Iraq’s central government lacked the capacity to prevent Israeli operations within its borders. This admission from Iraqi officials themselves underscores the severity of the situation and the extent to which Iraq’s sovereignty has been compromised by regional power struggles.
Strategic implications do not merely involve the direct military value of such bases. By securing a permanent or semi-permanent foothold in Iraq, Israel has proven its ability to conduct power projection activities far deeper into areas that were once thought unreachable to its forces. In turn, Iran and its allies must consider how they will have to deal with Israeli military activities conducted not just out of Israeli territory and not just out of American warships in the Persian Gulf.
US Involvement and Geopolitical Complications
This certainly adds a new dimension of complication to the diplomatic environment in that it has been admitted by the Americans themselves that there was US awareness of the existence of the first base. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Americans had confirmed that the base was constructed with their prior knowledge.
The United States’ participation thus puts the Biden administration in a sensitive situation where it has to carefully navigate the relationship between its ally and friend in Israel and its connections with both Iraq and Iran. With the United States maintaining an armed presence in Iraq due to agreements reached with the Iraqi government, the deployment of Israeli forces secretly conducting operations against Iran becomes problematic for the United States. The US presence in Iraq makes the country less credible to its Arab allies, who have tried to establish friendly connections with Iran.
It is also important to question the coordination between the Israeli and US forces operating in Iraq. It remains unclear whether the Americans knew about the activities of Israeli forces at that time, whether there was any collaboration between them, and how the Iraqi government was able to host both forces in the absence of any official confirmation of the deployment.
Operational Security and the Risk of Discovery
The need to keep covert military bases in enemy-held territories means there is a necessity for exceptional levels of operational security, and the lessons learned from the Israeli military operations in Iraq indicate not only the strengths but also weaknesses of such a venture. The successful operation and construction of the bases for over a year by the Israelis before any leaks into the media indicate the high level of intelligence and special forces capabilities of the Israeli military.
The report indicates that Israel reportedly launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who nearly discovered the first base, demonstrating the lengths to which Tel Aviv was willing to go to protect its secrets. This aggressive response to a potential exposure incident underscores the strategic importance of these bases and Israel’s determination to maintain operational secrecy at all costs. The use of airstrikes against Iraqi forces, even in a defensive manner, represents a significant escalation and could have serious diplomatic repercussions if made public.
Future Implications and Regional Stability Concerns
The discovery of the secret Israeli bases in Iraq brings up several key issues concerning the direction of the conflict in the future, as well as stability within the wider Middle East region. If the Iraqi government cannot stop such foreign military activity on its territory, it may become a dangerous precedent for other regional actors to conduct secret operations in weaker countries, resulting in even more state sovereignty being undermined and increasing the likelihood of proxy wars in the region.
This also poses a direct threat to Iran which, in reaction to the Israeli bases, might increase its own covert actions or speed up its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. With these Israeli bases in proximity to Iran, the country is exposed to a more tangible threat to its security.
Israel’s continued presence in Iraq is not guaranteed in the long term. As the war between Israel and Iran escalates and the rest of the world turns its eyes towards the region, sustaining the use of these bases will become progressively harder. Israel will either abandon them or continue to push the envelope in terms of establishing its presence in the region, which could reshape the geopolitical makeup of the Middle East for years to come.
It is clear that this discovery of Israeli bases will have far-reaching consequences for both parties involved, particularly in the realm of international relations. The exposure of these bases represents a critical turning point in the ongoing tension between Israel and Iran, with the potential to reshape the dynamics of the entire region.
