Direct proof of use
The Boeing 707 Re'em was documented in the 2025 Israel-Iran Conflict as an Israeli aerial-refueling platform, not as a strike aircraft. Israel Aerospace Industries described the Re'em Squadron's Boeing 707 aircraft as supporting Operation Rising Lion over Iran and said the aircraft underwent special maintenance for the mission.
The IDF reported on June 18, 2025 that the Israeli Air Force's aerial-refueling aircraft were supporting fighter jets operating in the skies of Iran, with dozens of sorties and more than 600 aerial refuelings by that point. IAI and Ynet later reported that Re'em aircraft delivered millions of liters of fuel through more than 700 midair refueling connections during the operation.
Sources: IAI Reem Operation Rising Lion, IDF 120th Squadron Refuelings, Ynet Reem Refueling Over Iran
Timeline
Operation Rising Lion began on June 13, 2025 with Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear, missile, air-defense, and command targets. The Re'em's documented conflict role appears in the support layer behind those sorties: keeping Israeli fighters fueled during repeated long-range missions rather than carrying weapons itself.
By June 18, the IDF said IAF refueling aircraft had conducted dozens of sorties and more than 600 refuelings in Middle Eastern skies while Israeli fighters operated over Iran. Later accounts from IAI and Ynet placed the final public figure above 700 refueling connections and described the operation as a large, sustained tanker effort by the 120th Squadron.
Sources: CRS Israel-Iran Conflict and Ceasefire, IDF 120th Squadron Refuelings, IAI Reem Operation Rising Lion, Ynet Reem Refueling Over Iran
Operational role
The Re'em's conflict function was mobility and logistics: it extended the reach and endurance of Israeli fighter packages flying to and over Iran. Ynet described the tankers as selecting routes that let fighter aircraft operate deep in Iranian airspace while keeping the large refuelers away from the highest-threat areas.
Public sources separate this use from direct attack. The Re'em enabled strike sorties, including time-sensitive missions described by Ynet, but the documented use is aerial refueling, route support, and tanker operations by Israel's 120th Squadron. IAI also noted the aircraft's vulnerability as old, large airframes with limited missile-evasion ability, making route planning and stand-off positioning central to the mission.
Sources: Ynet Reem Refueling Over Iran, IAI Reem Operation Rising Lion
