Israeli Air Force F-16s. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – For the first time, Israel allowed a US military officer to observe an Israeli Air Force exercise simulating long-range missions, including Iran, Kan news said in a report on Tuesday.

It described an “operational and classified exercise held two weeks ago, with tens of aircraft, in the background of the last round of nuclear talks occurred in Vienna.”

The exercise involved multiple scenarios, the report said, including mid-air refueling, striking distant targets and dealing with surface-to-air missile batteries.

The report also noted that an American-Israeli strategic forum dedicated to the Iranian issue, called “Opal” (“Leshem” in Hebrew), saw an American statement welcoming the presence of the American observer in the exercise.

It said a number of bilateral military joint exercises are scheduled, including “Juniper Corba,” which simulates joint air-defense cooperation in Israel in the event of a long-range missile attack.

The report further cited a senior US State Department official as stating on Monday that the window of opportunity for reviving the nuclear deal with Iran is closing.

The official said the Iranian pace of progress on its nuclear program means that talks could not continue indefinitely, and that Washington has made this clear to Tehran and to the participating world powers.