The United States’ direct, devastating strikes on Iran’s three core nuclear facilities, including the heavily fortified Fordow enrichment plant, early on June 22 marked a historic turning point in the military campaign to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran. 

This unprecedented American military intervention, coordinated with Israel’s ongoing “Operation Rising Lion,” was made possible by a quiet but highly significant shift that occurred years earlier: The transfer of Israel from the area of responsibility of the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) to that of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for the Middle East.

The American strikes involved six U.S. Air Force B-2 “Spirit” stealth bombers flying a 37-hour nonstop mission from their base in Missouri to drop  13.5-ton GBU-57 “bunker-buster” bombs on the deeply buried Fordow facility.

Simultaneously, U.S. Navy submarines launched approximately 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles against the nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan, with two additional bunker busters also hitting Natanz’s underground halls. Battle damage assessments on the targets are underway. 

The practical results of this new architecture have been on display even before the American strikes. During Iran’s retaliatory missile salvos, U.S. systems like the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployed in Israel and ship-based AEGIS missile defense systems in the region have played an important role in helping Israel with missile interceptions. 

Reported offensive coordination was also seen in the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites. According to an i24NEWS report, Israel was notified of the impending U.S. strike on June 19, when Washington requested Israeli assistance, including striking Iranian surface-to-air missile batteries to clear a path for the American bombers.

The foundation for this level of cooperation was laid in January 2021, when the Trump administration formally moved Israel into CENTCOM’s domain.

JINSA explains the rationale

Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), which had long advocated for the move, explained its significance. He said that  JINSA had advocated for the move since 2018, adding that after it happened, top IDF generals described it as a “game-changer.”

 “Close U.S.-Israel military cooperation became even closer,” he said. “That became most evident when Iran attacked Israel in April and October [2024] with missiles and drones, and Israel worked with the U.S. military and regional Arab countries to defend its airspace. It’s also been evident in the military campaigns of the past couple of weeks.”

Makovsky added, “The U.S. military command focused on Iran is CENTCOM. Its outstanding commander is Gen. Erik Kurilla, who has privately pressed for an aggressive approach toward Iran, including its Houthi proxy. Operationally, the overlapping focus of both CENTCOM and Israel on Iran has facilitated extremely close coordination between the two militaries. I suspect over time we’ll learn just how close that coordination has been.”

Before the change, Israel was an outlier in EUCOM, whose primary focus was Russia and Europe. As explained in a detailed JINSA policy paper published in April 2024, this meant that the U.S. command responsible for partnering with Israel was not the same one responsible for planning and operating against their greatest mutual threat: Iran.

The move to CENTCOM eliminated these bureaucratic stovepipes, placing the IDF and the U.S. command most engaged in the Middle East into daily contact. This fostered shared threat assessments, joint operational planning, pooling together intelligence and sensors, and, most importantly, the personal trust between commanders that is essential in wartime.

General (ret.) Kenneth F. McKenzie, a former CENTCOM commander and a distinguished JINSA fellow, placed the move within a broader strategic context.  In a May 14 JINSA report, he argued that it was one of three key Trump administration actions that had reshaped the region. 

“The first was the strike on Soleimani,” he wrote, referring to the U.S. assassination of Iran’s Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020. “This clearly showed an administration that was in thrall of the potential for escalation. The second was the signing of the Abraham Accords, which opened the pathway for eventual Israeli diplomatic and economic integration into the region.”

He added, “Finally, the Trump decision to move Israel from United States European Command (EUCOM) into United States Central Command (CENTCOM) operationalized the Abraham Accords and created the mechanism that enabled the United States to assist in the defense of Israel from Iranian attack, and to even incorporate the activities of Israel’s neighbors.”

Top Israeli military commanders have publicly lauded the partnership. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, speaking on June 22 from the IDF command center, called the U.S. strike “a turning point in the campaign” and emphasized that the coordination with the United States is a “major strategic asset.”

This sentiment was echoed by an Israeli military official who, speaking at the start of the Israeli campaign against Iran, said the U.S. military had been a leading partner since “day one of this war,” saving many lives. And, he noted, “That’s not an overstatement.”

Image - CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla (center-right) meets IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (center-left) at IDF HQ in Tel Aviv. Credit: IDF.