IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Wednesday that most of Iran’s military capabilities had been destroyed and that its nuclear program had been set back by years, as Iranian state television reported what it said were details from a draft memorandum of understanding with the United States.
Speaking at Nevatim Air Base during a ceremony marking the arrival of the Israel Air Force’s first Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft, Zamir said Iran’s leadership was facing mounting pressure after the war with Israel.
“The evil structure of the mullah regime has cracked significantly, and its future and stability are shrouded in uncertainty,” Zamir said. “Its leaders are being hunted, its economy is collapsing and its citizens have not yet understood the scale of the disaster to which their extremist leaders have led them.”
The comments came amid U.S.-Iran negotiations and echoed previous Israeli assessments following Israel’s most recent campaign against the Islamic Republic, dubbed Operation Roaring Lion.
Iranian state television claimed it had obtained details from a draft agreement with Washington. According to the report, the draft calls for the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from the region around Iran, the removal of sanctions and the lifting of a naval blockade.
In return, the report said, Tehran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to prewar levels within a month and manage ship traffic through the waterway in coordination with Oman. The report said the draft would be adopted as a UN Security Council resolution if a final agreement is reached within 60 days.
Iranian media also stressed that the framework had not been finalized, saying Tehran would not take any step without “tangible verification.”
The IDF said the KC-46, known in the IAF as “Gideon,” landed Wednesday at Nevatim. It is the first of six refueling aircraft purchased from the United States.
The IDF said the aircraft will extend the range and flight time of Israeli fighter jets and provide advanced transport capabilities, strengthening the air force’s ability to operate in distant theaters as Israel continues to prepare for multi-front conflict.
Zamir called the aircraft “the operational first fruit of our future air arm” and said it was part of a multiyear plan to bring new platforms into the IAF under its new commander, Maj. Gen. Omer Tishler.
Tishler said Israeli refueling aircraft had helped carry IAF fighter jets to Iran about two months earlier from the same runways at Nevatim.
“The regime in Iran, which set as its goal the destruction of Israel, encountered firepower it did not know, did not expect and could not stop,” Tishler said.
He added that the air force continues to strike Hezbollah, support ground troops, defend northern Israel, repeatedly target senior Hamas figures in Gaza and prepare for developments on any front.