Routine IRGC drills rattle Israel as military chief calls CENTCOM commander: Report
The Israeli regime has raised alarm with Washington over a routine Iranian missile exercise, with senior Israeli officials warning the drill could mask preparations for an operation, despite US intelligence saying there was no indication of imminent action.
Israeli officials told the Trump administration over the weekend that a missile exercise launched by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) could be a cover for a strike against the occupied territories, Axios reported on Monday, citing Israeli and American sources familiar with the matter.
The warning prompted a direct call between the regime’s chief of staff and the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), underscoring heightened Israeli sensitivity to routine movements by Iranian defense forces.
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir phoned CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper on Saturday to convey Israeli concerns about the IRGC drill, which had begun several days earlier, the sources were quoted as saying.
Zamir urged close US-Israeli coordination on military preparations amid what Israeli officials described as a lower tolerance for risk since October 7, 2023, when Palestinian resistance fighters, led by Hamas, carried out the historic al-Aqsa Storm Operation against the occupied territories.
Axios, meanwhile, cited an American source as saying US intelligence currently bore no indication that an Iranian operation was imminent.
Cooper traveled to Tel Aviv on Sunday, where he met Zamir and other senior Israeli military officials to review the situation.
Axios additionally cited one source as saying Israeli intelligence had raised similar alleged concerns six weeks before, after identifying Iranian missile movements – concerns that ultimately did not materialize.
“The chances for an Iranian attack are less than 50%, but nobody is willing to take the risk and just say it is only an exercise,” the source said.
The latest drill comes against the backdrop of the unprovoked and illegal Israeli-American war on the Islamic Republic in June.
In recent remarks, the IRGC has underscored its confidence in its intelligence capabilities during the war.
Iran’s intelligence database on Israel enabled precise strikes in June war: IRGC https://t.co/RLHfhrszCz
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) December 18, 2025
Brig. Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, an IRGC spokesman, said Iran possessed a “complete intelligence database” on Israeli targets that enabled precise retaliatory strikes during the unlawful aggression.
He said Iranian forces matched Israeli strikes target-for-target during the war and added that no missiles went astray due to years of intelligence gathering.
Naeini also said Iranian strikes destroyed dozens of strategic Israeli centers and key infrastructure, asserting that roughly 80% of Iran’s operations relied on intelligence gathered before the episode.
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