Israel’s original retaliatory plan against Iran included a much wider counterstrike on military targets, including near Tehran, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing three Israeli officials.

“Such a broad and damaging attack would have been far harder for Iran to overlook, increasing the chances of a forceful Iranian counterattack,” the paper said. ...

Citing Israeli and Western officials, the Times account also said Israel fired “a small number of missiles” from aircraft stationed several hundred miles west of Iran, and also launched small attack drones, known as quadcopters, “to confuse Iranian air defenses.”