The U.S. secretly delivered hundreds of Hellfire missiles to Israel ahead of the unprecedented attack on Iran on Friday, reports Middle East Eye.

On Tuesday, the U.S. sent Israel about 300 Hellfire missiles as part of a large-scale stock replenishment ahead of the attack, and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump stated that it is ready to continue engaging Iran in negotiations over its nuclear program.

The delivery of such a large quantity of missiles suggests that the Trump administration was well aware of Israel’s plans to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran, two U.S. officials told MEE on condition of anonymity.

No previous reports had indicated U.S. deliveries of Hellfire missiles or other large-scale arms shipments ahead of Friday’s assault.

Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile with laser guidance. For Israel, they would not be used to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities, but rather to conduct precision strikes.

During Friday’s attack, the Israeli military deployed more than 100 aircraft using precision tracking to strike high-ranking military officials, nuclear scientists, and command centers.

“There’s a time and a place for Hellfires. They proved useful for Israel,” a senior U.S. Department of Defense official told MEE.