Complete freedom means they're also using every operational F-16 and F-15 plus their entire long range drone feet.
Even without complete freedom they're bringing along some F-15s and launching as many cruise missiles from them as possible.
They wouldn't want to bring non-stealth aircraft because they'd be striking accross Iraq. With F-35s, Iraq could just say "Lol Idk our SAMs didn't pick up any stealth aircraft. PS how'd you like being taken to the opera you greasy persian fuckstains" and sit this one out. With F-15/16 they would either need to throw all-in with the Jews and enter hostilities with Iran, or they would have to make some effort to shoot them down (and get their SAMs and radars pounded from the skies by the next wave).
But since even Iran's garbage tier equipment would at least be able to lock onto F-16s/F-15s I was referring specifically to countering the F-35. That is, even if the F-35 was totally stealth as far as Iran was concerned and we took the overly optimistic position all their air defense could be disregarded as a non-entity posing zero threat to the F-35, conducting operations against Iran would still be costly and in effective unless against specific targets that the destruction there of would do outsized damage.
But I think the tack of this thought experiment has drifted from the original point I was making.
I'm not disputing that if Israel had a high-value target (nuke reactor) to hit that they could do it (they definitely could; the F-15's operating ceiling is higher than anything Iraq has.).
What I'm saying is that Israel doing more generalized punitive stikes, like they do in Syria and Lebanon, would be more difficult and costly and when you aren't trying to risk it all to remove Iran's access to atomic weapons, decent odds of the mission needing to be scrubbed because Israel won't risk an F-35 just to blow up some random IRGC HQ.
With the further points that A) Iran is large enough Israel's stealth fleet wouldn't be able to damage them in any serious capacity (again, singular high-value nuke or rocketry facilities accepted. But even those wouldn't remove Iran's ability to wage war). and B) Iran's air defense network is garbage equipment manned by garbage operators and the only thing that saves Iran from directly feeling the wrath of the Elders of Zion is the fact they are far away with third-party nations between them.
